Anything but Normal -- NSW (FMA)

[Obi-quiet]

Title: Anything but Normal

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

Rating: T (pg-13)

Reason: Violence and some disturbing scenes.

Critique: ENCOURAGED

 

For those of you who would like to watch the series or read the manga first, here are the links below. I don't know how many you'll have to watch with a subtitle, but this is the link to the dub (P.S. I recommend the manga, but you have to read it from right to left):

 

Anime:

Manga: http://www.mangareader.net/116/full-metal-alchemist.html

 

Note: You can skip the author's note and just go read the story. ^^;

 

Author's Note: Well, this is something I've had written for a while, and the fandom is Fullmetal Alechemist, Brotherhood. There are some pretty major spoilers in here if you haven't read past about chapter 80 in the manga, and at least half-way through the anime.

 

I'm not expecting a lot of feedback here on this because it's not Star Wars, but this is my way of saying "I'm still here". Last year I could have gotten onto this site at work and read all the stories I've been wanting to read, but they changed the filters this year. *shakes fist* So I can't get on J.N at work. Basically, I don't have much time to do much of anything on the site for a while. I AM planning on reading all the stuff on here that everyone's posting (I really REALLY want to) when I finally get some time, but for now the only thing I can do is write at work. Hence why I'm doing this.

 

Okay, shutting up now.

 

Onto the story. <.< >.> <.<

 

Anything but Normal

 

Time period: 15 years after the chosen day in FMA Brotherhood:

 

Chapter 1

 

A red vortex of anguish and horror swirled around him, but he took no heed. Instead, he focused on the dark haired man before him, desperately trying to stop him”¦

 

From doing what?

 

Something important, but that was all he knew. He couldn’t recall specifics.

 

The dark-haired man spoke, but no sound came out of his smiling mouth. The cruel grin held no reassurance. Instead, it promised nothing but pain. The man seemed to revel in the overwhelming negative atmosphere around them.

 

A young voice yelled out, and he realized it was him, although he couldn't make those words out either. It was a protest of some sort, directed at the dark-haired man, but the other figure only laughed and turned his back as an arm from a completely different being came reaching out for him followed by two determined, golden eyes.

 

Desperation raced through him as he tried with all his might to avoid the hand, but it clamped down on his head and--

 

“NO!” Selim Baker gasped, shooting bolt up in his bed. It took him a moment to focus on his surroundings. Just his room. His plain, old, ordinary room. No swirling vortex of pain and suffering, no insane, dark haired man, no reaching hand or challenging eyes. It took a moment, but he finally began to feel his racing heartbeat slow down.

 

It had been a long time since he'd had that dream. More than a year. Taking several deep breaths, he willed his body to relax again. Absently, he reached a hand up to rub at the scar on his head. Two perfect circles, one inside the other. His mother had told him it was a birth mark, but he later came to the conclusion that it had to be a scar. Birthmarks didn't look like strange targets. It had become a sort of nervous habit to rub at it.

 

Slowly, his muscles began to unclench and he relaxed down onto the bed again. Still rubbing his scar, he glanced at clock on the night stand beside his bed. 2:14 AM. He needed to get back to sleep if he wanted to be somewhat coherent for school tomorrow. Sighing, he flipped his pillow over to the opposite side. The cool material felt good against his skin.

 

As his body finally calmed down enough for him to begin drifting off, his eyes found the moon hanging in plain view through the window next to his bed; a half circle shimmering in the black-blue of the sky. Normally he would have scowled and turned away. He’d never really cared for moonlight; appreciating that it gave some light to the night time darkness, but not liking how it made the world seem cold and unwelcoming. Usually he much preferred the sun. But tonight, the soft glow gave off a quiet comfort in calm waves that seemed to wrap around him, lulling him thankfully back to sleep.

 

By 2:20, he was already out.

 

xXx

 

“Selim!” Dark hair over equally dark eyes turned towards the voice that had called out to him. He smiled when he saw his best friend come running up, breathing heavily. Johannus Browbeat, son of Col. Albert Browbeat, had never exactly been athletic. Slightly plump, with thick, blond hair combed to the side, he was a perfect picture of a child born to status, especially compared to Selim’s thin, rather wiry frame.

 

“Johan,” Selim greeted as he waited for the boy to catch his breath. “Are you ready for the test?”

 

“You kiddin’?” Johan returned Selim’s grin full force. The dark-haired boy almost laughed outright. The one area Johan didn’t seem to fit into ‘elite’ society was the way he talked. He happened to be the only boy attending St. Bartimus’ Academy that Selim knew of who didn't care to use language that would be considered more 'posh'. His language wasn't exactly modern slang, but Selim still found it entertaining. Most of the other students considered themselves too good to associate with language used by the common masses. “I stayed up all friggin' night long plowin’ through this monster.” With that, he waved the large text book with the title A Study of Amestris' Historical Events in front of his friend.

 

Selim shook his head. He’d believe that when he saw it. Johan got good enough grades to normally keep his parents off of his back, and that was about as far as it went. He highly doubted that Johan had put in as much effort as he claimed.

 

Then again, that was part of what made Johan Johan, and Selim had long ago concluded that he wouldn’t have it any other way. Not that he didn’t try to urge his friend to get better grades. Selim knew that when properly motivated, Johan could give him a run for his money on intelligence.

 

“Come on,” Selim grinned, turning back towards the school.

 

“Don’t you think it’s creepy?” Johan asked.

 

Selim paused, blinking. “Don’t I think what’s creepy?”

 

“We’re taking a test on Fuhrer Bradly's term in office,” the blond replied as if that explained everything.

 

“So?” Selim asked, wondering what Johan was getting at.

 

“You’re named after his kid, right?”

 

Ah, so that was what the blond meant. “Selim Bradly, the adopted son of the 23rd Fuhrer who was killed in the coup? Yes.”

 

“Don’t you think it’s creepy, talking about the kid who you were named after, who died? Who looks a lot like you too”¦”

 

Selim shrugged. “Children are named after famous people all the time,” he responded. “Why should it bother me?”

 

Johan shook his head. “It’d totally freak me out.”

 

Selim raised an eyebrow. He'd heard that term used before, just not from his friend. “Is that a new phrase?”

 

Belying his 15 years, Johan just stuck out his tongue. Selim rolled his eyes. “Mature.” He paused for a few moments before shrugging and continuing on his walk to school. They still had several blocks to go.

 

The blond fell into step beside him, still trying to fully recover from his short sprint and tucking the book back inside his bag. Selim shook his head and thought back on his own study session. His grin faded.

 

“I asked about my parents again last night.”

 

Johan immediately sobered. “And?” he asked.

 

“She still refuses to tell me anything. No clues and no hints. Just the same pathetic promises she's used since I was six. I could be reading about them in that history book and I wouldn't know it.” His frown deepened. “I don't even know their names.” He'd asked about his parents on a semi-regular basis for as long as he could remember, and the only thing his adopted mother had ever told him was that they had died in the Coup d'etat staged by those closest to Fuhrer Bradley. “She told me she'd tell me when I'm older...again.”

 

“That excuse is gettin' kinda old,” Johan muttered in agreement.

 

“It got old ten years ago,” Selim replied, his voice equally low. “It kind of worries me. I get the idea that they were involved in something serious.”

 

Johan nodded, looking thoughtful. “Maybe they were undercover agents, or in the Fuhrer's personal bodyguard entail, or something cool like that.”

 

“Maybe,” Selim murmered.

 

“That would be awesome!” Johan said with a grin, then turned to look up at the leaves on the trees that lined the street as the rustled in the wind. “It really does bite that you don't have any idea. Your father could have been the Fuhrer himself for all we know.”

 

Selim snorted. “Yeah, right. Fuhrer Bradley couldn't have children, remember?” That had been an undisputed fact that he remembered reading in more than one text.

 

“Well, your mom did used to work for him. She'd be close enough to look after his kid,” Johan continued, now teasing more than anything else.

 

“That was before she took me in,” Selim responded with an eyeroll, knowing his friend was referring to his adopted mother.

 

“And she's related to Madam Bradley, right?”

 

Selim frowned in response. He had always thought it a bit...uncanny that he looked so much like Selim Bradley and his adopted mother looked like Fuhrer Bradley's wife. They could truly be related, or Selim could be just a random child orphaned in the coup, taken in because he happened to look like the Fuhrer's son. But that was the frustrating thing; he just didn't know.

 

Johan shrugged, sensing his friend's uneasiness. “I'm just sayin'. You'd totally be like a prince or something.”

 

Rolling his eyes again, Selim glanced over at his friend and couldn't help but smile. All of his frustration seemed so meaningless when Johan was around. His natural optimism just seemed to infect everything. It was hard to not smile right along with him, no matter how angry Selim had been before hand. He’d never openly admit how much Johan’s antics amused him.

 

His pride wouldn’t let him.

 

xXx

 

Later that day

 

“I don't think I'll ever get used to Mr. Polluck,” Johan muttered as he dejectedly examined his most recent foreign country report. It looked almost tattered with all the red marks scattered across the page. At least he’d done fairly well on the history test. “Why should I care if the country of Manipal eats differently than us? It's an island in the middle of the ocean for goodness sake! I don't get it, and I don't think I ever will.”

 

“It's not that difficult,” Selim muttered back. His own report had been neatly shuffled into his book bag with the rest of the papers. He'd been rather upset at the score of 97, but after noticing the marks of the other students, he hadn't complained. At least not openly. Still, he'd always taken a certain amount of pride in his high, nearly perfect scores.

 

“Says the genius Baker,” Johan muttered, stuffing his paper into his own bag and running a hand through his sand-colored hair. “Hey, Selim,” he looked over at his friend, “let's go to a pool hall or cafe or something. With this score, I'm definitely grounded. Let's make the most of it while we can.”

 

Selim blinked at his friend before breaking into a smile. “The usual place? You can have a head start if you want.”

 

Johan waved a hand through the air, declining the invitation. “No thank you. I'm not in the mood to get beat half-way to Xing. You win every stinkin' time.”

 

“It's not that bad,” Selim replied, glancing up at the sun. “Although, running in this heat is probably not a good idea.”

 

“It's a very bad thought, actually,” Johan insisted. “But I have a better one. Let's stop by Old Man Mauer's store and get some candy!”

 

Selim shook his head. “That's not fair. You know my weakness.” Almost as if in response to the comment, the dark-haired boy’s stomach let out a loud groan followed by an audible rumble. Johan burst out laughing. In response, Selim punched his arm. It wasn't his fault that for as long as he could remember, he'd had an absolutely ravenous appetite.

 

“Of course I know,” Johan finally gasped, rubbing his arm where Selim had punched him, making the dark-haired boy feel slightly guilty. “Come on!” the blond said finally, dismissing the entire situation with a wave of his hand as he ducked into the afore-mentioned convenience store and began to scope out the racks for their favorite candies.

 

Selim smiled and followed.

 

xXx

 

The chair creaked as Selim sat back, grinning at the empty glass in front of him, his third sundae now resting happily in his stomach.

 

“You're still hungry, aren't you?” Johan asked, shaking his head. He already knew the answer. Selim’s ability to eat just about anything sometimes scared a few of the kids at school. It still seemed to amaze Johan as well, even after 9 years of friendship.

 

“And are you one to talk?” Selim asked, raising one eyebrow at the two empty glasses sitting conspicuously in front of Johan.

 

The larger boy grinned. “Yeah, but I couldn’t still put down two or three more.”

 

Selim conceded the point. Currently his record was seven. He’d been particularly hungry that day and he’d also had a brain-freeze headache for the rest of the afternoon, although that hadn't stopped him from eating a rather large dinner that night.

 

Blinking away the fond, if embarrassing memory, Selim decided to ignore his friend and contentedly glanced around at the casual café they'd been loitering around as they stuffed themselves silly. Well, Johan had. Selim never really had seemed to get uncomfortably full.

 

Then his eyes reached the large time piece in the corner and he immediately shot to his feet. “Is it really that late?” he asked incredulously. His sudden movement caused his chair to fall to the floor as it knocked into the people sitting at the table behind him. They turned around to scowl at him, but he ignored them. “My mother's going to kill me!”

 

Johan blinked. “Did your mom change your curfew?”

 

Selim shook his head. “No, but I'm supposed to let her know if I won't be home before dark. She freaked out the last time that happened.”

 

“Oh,” the light-haired boy muttered. Then he sighed and grabbed the book bag holding all of his papers and supplies. “Fine. Let’s go.”

 

They quickly left the small shop, heading in their homes' general directions. That had been one reason they'd ended up being such close friends. After starting at the Academy the same year, they’d quickly realized that they happened to live near each other. Once they'd gotten to know each other a little more (and practically terrorized both of their neighborhoods), their parents began to arrange for the boys to be driven to school by a chauffeur or family member. Once they’d both turned 13, they'd practically begged their parents to let them walk to and from school, with only recent success.

 

Selim could still remember how leery his mother had been at even the suggestion. Every time the subject came up, they would inevitably get into an argument about her treating him like a child and her insisting that she had Selim's best interests at heart. It had taken over a year of straight out persistence to wear her down, and he did not want the privilege taken away. Getting home later than normal just might do that. He could already hear the arguments about how now that he had turned 15 he should act like it and be more responsible.

 

Annoyed at himself and the situation in general, Selim pushed his friend to hurry along the darkening streets.

 

“We takin' the shortcut?” Johan asked.

 

“Yes,” Selim replied.

 

“If your mom finds out, you'll be in even more trouble,” he pointed out.

 

“It's just a street and a few warehouses,” Selim responded as he turned a corner, Johan right behind him.

 

“Right,” Johan responded dryly.

 

Only a few blocks wide in both directions, an industrial area of town had stood abandoned for over a decade. The government hadn’t gotten around to doing anything with it yet, and no one else seemed to really care to keep it maintained. As such the area had fallen into disrepair and tended to gather people his mother would call “dubious”, when it wasn't completely abandoned. They’d been warned several times not to cut through there, but Selim was in a hurry. Besides, it wasn't like this was the first time they'd taken it.

 

That didn't stop it from being ominous. As they continued to walk, the area slowly morphed from a rural neighborhood to one with small, dirty lots full of junk and weeds, and then into factories and warehouses.

 

Whether it was because of his hurried state of mind, or the creepy atmosphere from the broken buildings in the red-orange evening sunlight, Selim had become a little more aware of their surroundings. That was when he caught it. Just out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move in the shadows behind them.

 

They were being followed.

 

It took all of his willpower to not stop right then and there. Beside him, his friend continued to go on about a game they'd discussed multiple times before. Selim nodded and hummed in agreement every now and then, but he kept his attention on the presence behind them. He didn't tell Johan. The last thing he needed was for his best friend to panic. Selim was beginning to wonder just what he should do when Johan sighed. Looking around again, Selim realized they'd almost reached their neighborhood.

 

“Guess I'd better go this way,” he muttered, pointing off to the left towards his own house. Selim didn't say anything for a moment, but then he nodded. If they split up, he could find out who this guy had decided to trail. Maybe they were some sort of target? But why would anyone stalk them? Did they knew Johan's father's position? But why would they go after a colonel's son? There were easily richer targets. Then again, he could be trailing Selim, although that made even less sense. Yes, they were both well off, but dark-haired boy couldn't think of a good reason for either one of them to be stalked, unless it was a random mugging.

 

Selim bit back a groan. Why couldn't he have noticed the guy earlier? Then they could have avoided the shortcut and gone to a house and potentially a phone. Maybe they could have avoided this altogether. Still, if the guy was planning on mugging someone, Selim would prefer if the person came after him. It would take a load off of his mind to know that Johan was safe.

 

Well, safer.

 

“Later,” his friend said with a grin, drawing him out of his thoughts. “Good luck with your mom.”

 

The dark-haired boy returned the smile shakily. Johan looked slightly puzzled for a moment before he shrugged it off and struck off down the uneven road.

 

Selim continued to walk towards his house until Johan had disappeared around a corner before he turned to confront his stalker, thankful that whoever it was had been after him and not his friend. Selim looked weaker, but truthfully, he was better in a fight. Johan wasn’t as fast as Selim.

 

“Who are you?” he asked. The sun had yet to completely set, but the man who walked forward still seemed to be shrouded in shadows. “The way you move, you wanted to be noticed. So state your business.”

 

A dry, almost raspy chuckle reached his ears, sending shivers up and down his spine. “Haven’t lost your touch, have you.” He said it as more of a statement than a question, and had a certainty in his voice that made Selim all the more uneasy.

 

He swallowed unsurely but didn’t back down, hoping he looked braver than he felt. “You have yet to answer my--”

 

“Not as cold though. Excellent. That makes my job easier.”

 

Selim did not like the sound of that. “What job?”

 

“Your death.”

 

A knot of ice began to form in teenager's stomach. “My what?! Why?”

 

The voice began to cackle. “Don't you know, little boy? Don't you remember?”

 

Selim gulped. “Remember what?”

 

The man chuckled again. “Oh, this is too good! No wonder you're powerless.” He reached a hand to pull off the hood of the long jacked he'd been sporting. The man underneath had fairly dark skin, and looked like he hadn't cut his hair in years. Judging by the state of his clothes, Selim doubted he'd had a bath in about that long too. He'd always had a keen sense of smell, and he deliberately directed that particular sense away from the man. An uneven, dark beard streaked with gray hung ragged from his hollow cheeks and jaw. His grin spoke of more than a little insanity as he sized Selim up like a butcher would a prized cow.

 

“Who are you?” Selim asked again. The man's face rang a bell, but he couldn't remember where they'd met. The man's grin widened, but he didn't say anything. “Don't play games with me! You'll regret it!” It was a bluff, of course. Not even a good bluff, but it did help him feel a little more brave.

 

To his great surprise, the other man broke out into laughter. “Oh, I won't regret it. I know you're not someone to be taken lightly,” he said with a grin, and pulled something out from under his coat. Selim's eyes went wide as he recognized a very large gun similar to one displayed in a local museum; semi-automatic, black and deadly. “See, I came prepared.”

 

“Why are you doing this?! I demand you tell me!” he blurted out, hoping the man didn’t pick up the steadily growing quaver in his voice.

 

Again, the man let out a laugh, this one sounding a bit more incredulous and (if it were possible) crazier. “The name's Clemin.”

 

Selim felt his eyes go wide. “The former Brigadier General Clemin?” he asked, his mind returning to the test he’d completed earlier that day. He'd been one of the generals behind the Coup d’état that had taken so many lives, including the Fuhrer's and his son's.

 

And Selim's parents.

 

A rush of anger burst through him.

 

“You! It's because of you my parents are dead”

 

The man's grin only grew wider as he set the weapon against his shoulder firmly. “Parents? Ha! Which ones?”

 

That question took Selim aback. “What do you mean?”

 

“Do you mean your false parents, the Bradleys, or your real father, the homonculus?”

 

Something in his words caused the world to freeze. Selim felt the blood rush out of his face as he stared down the man with the gun. “F-fuhrer Bradly? He’s not my father! And what is a homonculus?”

 

That incessant grin turned particularly gleeful. “Oh, so they didn't tell you? Well, that will make it all the easier for me to kill you!”

 

“What?” Selim asked, taking a fearful step back. “Why? Why me? I wasn't even involved in the war!”

 

“Oh you weren't, were you Selim Bradly?”

 

Selim felt his heart beat speed up. “How can I be Selim Bradley?! He died before I was born!”

 

The man just laughed again and leveled his gun at the teenager. “I will have my revenge, monster!”

 

Selim turned to bolt, hoping he could out run the man’s aim when a new voice yelled out, and Selim felt his blood run cold.

 

“Selim!”

 

“Johannus!” Selim replied. His friend had, for whatever reason, come back and now stood on the crumbling, sidewalk corner with wide, horrified eyes, taking in the scene as best he could.

 

Clemin spun around, surprised at the newcomer and pushed his finger down on the trigger, releasing a hailstorm of bullets towards the larger boy. Selim saw as if in slow motion, and knew he wouldn’t be fast enough to push or pull his friend out of the way.

 

“NO!” he yelled, desperate for something--anything--to save his best friend. A throb in his forehead was all the warning he got before the shadows in front of Johan shot up, creating a sort of black shield that easily repelled all of the bullets.

 

For several moments, all movement stopped as the three of them stared at the new, black, converse wall.

 

“What the...!” Johan exclaimed taking several steps back as he took in the sight.

 

Selim stared, open-mouthed, wondering where the heck that had come from. Only the vaguest thoughts brought the notice of the pain in his head to his marginally coherent mind.

 

Clemin, who had stopped shooting, eyed the wall warily. “So you do remember something.”

 

Johan blinked and peeked past the wall at Selim. “This is from you?”

 

Selim shrugged and held his hands up in surrender, shaking his head. He had no clue! How was he supposed to answer that anyway?

 

The cocking of a gun registered suddenly and he did the first thing he could think of: he ran. Sprinting desperately towards the wall, he saw Johan pale even more, undoubtedly worried that his friend was now trying to dodge bullets in front of his eyes.

 

“Selim!” the blond yelped again. He could hear the bullets hitting the ground behind him, and only barely dodged behind the black wall before they caught up. “Are you alright?” the blond asked as his friend rushed to his side.

 

“I'm fine,” Selim muttered, waving his hand dismissively.

 

“Do you really think that will save you from me?” the ex-general yelled from somewhere on the other sides of the wall.

 

“Who is this guy?” Johan hissed.

 

“Ex-Brigadier General Clemin,” Selim muttered as he approached the edge of the wall to peek around it. They had to get out of there, but Selim didn't dare make a move without knowing exactly where their assailant was. Something told him not to underestimate this man.

 

The other boy's eyes grew wide. “Ex-Brig--the guy who tried to overthrow Fuhrer Bradley?!”

 

“And killed him,” Selim said again, darkly. “Along with my father.” As far as Selim was concerned, Clemin and the others who started that coup were responsible for all of the deaths from that battle. The thought startled him. He'd never really been one to assign blame before.

 

“AH, HA, HA, HA!” the booming voice of the insane man exploded as he stepped into view from behind the edge of the wall in back of them. Both boys started and whipped around, already backpedaling away from their assailant who had his gun pointed directly at Selim. It didn't take long for them to realized that he'd hurriedly sneaked to the opposite side of the wall while they'd been talking. “Is that what they told you? Do you want to know the truth?”

 

“Truth?” Johan managed, his voice shaking. He looked petrified with fear, standing on the deserted street, surrounded by old warehouses and vacant lots with his pale skin standing out in the dim light from the half-working street lamps and what was left of the daylight. Selim wondered if he looked that pathetic too.

 

Clemin focused on Selim. “The truth is, your father was behind everything! It was his idea to turn Amestris into one giant transmutation circle! Suck the lives out of all the people and use them to live forever!” He got the strangest look of ecstasy on his face as he looked up at the stars. Selim wasn't about to complain. The longer that gun didn't fire, the more chance they had of someone coming to their aid. Someone had to have heard this racket by now! The man was shooting a semi-automatic gun for goodness sake!

 

The rag-clad man continued. “We were there to help him. We knew he wasn't human, and we still tried following his orders so that we could gain immortality too! And then he stabbed us in the back!”

 

“My father would never do that!” Selim shouted. The words surprised him, and he almost kicked himself for saying them aloud, especially when the man turned those insane, glinting eyes back to him.

 

“Do you really think so?” Selim didn't answer, but he felt his fists clench. How was he supposed to answer that though? He didn't know anything about his father. For all Selim knew, his parents could have been with the traitors. That would explain why his mother didn't want to tell him...

 

No! He shook the thought from his head. What was the point of listening to this insane criminal? And why should Selim believe him? Still, the man's words seemed to strike something in the back of his mind. They rang all too true...

 

“That monster would have done anything as long as he achieved his goals in the end,” Clemin continued.

 

“Stop it,” Selim growled. He didn't notice Johan's fearful glance between the two now glaring at each other.

 

The man didn't seem to be listening, too lost in the past. “I was one of his right-hand men. A Brigadier General. We were all on the puppet strings of your father. Would you like another truth? It was Bradley's job to keep the country at war so we could have enough excuses to make philosophers stones. All of it was your Father's idea.”

 

Johannus looked completely confused as Selim's eyes narrowed. “Stop saying that.”

 

Clemin laughed again. “So that's where your pride lies this time! You think your father was a great man, but he was nothing more than a betraying, murdering homonculus! And you're no different.” He aimed his gun directly at Selim's head again. “That thing put me in prison. I will have my revenge!”

 

The man had gone too far. His father had been in the military, and his mother had supported him. That was all Selim knew about them. For years he'd thought of his parents as good, upstanding people like his adopted mother said. He'd always imagined his father as a proud, military officer working to help the country who would come home to his loving wife every night. Then this stranger dared to show up, spewing lies everywhere. And they were lies. They were. But despite Selim telling himself over and over again in his head, the man's words broke through that dream like a mace through stained glass. And it hurt. A lot.

 

“I said,” Selim heard himself say in a dangerously quiet voice, “stop saying that!” For that instant, he saw red, and only wanted to stop this man and his mouth, no matter what it took.

 

The shadows responded.

 

Faster than any of the three people there could follow, one whipped out--as sharp as a blade--and cut directly through the gun before it could even fire a shot. The mad glee in the other man's face changed to horror and fear in an instant and he stumbled backward. Then another shadow shot out, wrapping itself around the former Brigadier General, tripping him completely. Surprised and panicking, he yelped and fell backwards as more shadows crawled towards him, wrapping around his ragged frame.

 

Selim didn't remember standing up, but somehow done so, leaving Johan behind him as he took several slow, triumphant steps forward, unable to help himself. He stood there grinning smugly as the man looked on in fear, trembling.

 

“So, Brigadier General Clemin,” somewhere in his mind, he became aware that his voice didn't sound like his. Instead, it sounded like several voices at once. His mouth almost seemed to move of it's own accord, but it felt too satisfying to stop. He enjoyed watching the man struggle in his hold. “How would you like to be delivered to the police? In large or small pieces?”

 

The man's eyes widened, the former insane confidence now completely gone. Seeing the terror from him felt surprisingly good. Maybe he would forgo giving him to the police at all. He was still hungry after all. He lifted a hand to call the shadows to him.

 

“SELIM!” Johan's voice seemed to pull him away from the red and black haze that had obscured his vision. He snapped out of it, looking around and taking in the scene with blinking eyes, as if he'd only just arrived. The shadows loosened and fell away, leaving the ex-general a quivering mass of flesh on the ground in front of him.

 

It took a few seconds for his mind to catch up with the situation. When it did, Selim backed away, eyes growing wide. He'd been about to kill that man...in cold blood! He'd even considered eating him! Horrified, he looked down at his hands, half expecting them to look completely different--like a monster's, or covered in blood. How could he have done that? How could he have even thought that?! Only a monster... Unable to look at in Clemin's direction anymore, he turned and met his friend's fearful eyes. That fear was no longer directed towards the ex-general.

 

“I...I...” he started, but couldn't seem to say anything.

 

“C-come one,” Johan said urgently. “Let's get out of here! We can report him to the police! Hurry!”

 

Nodding, and more than a little grateful, Selim turned to follow his friend as he ran down the street. Only then did he realize just how exhausted he'd become. It took every ounce of strength and will power he had to even take the next few steps.

 

Still, despite his fatigue, he managed to half-jog, half-walk down the street. His thoughts did not linger on the escaped, convicted criminal who had just tried to kill him, or what the man had said about his father. The words “homunculus” and “not human” occupied his thoughts, repeating over and over again.

 

They passed another street lamp, and he caught sight of his normal, average shadow. Had all of that really come from him?

 

Just what was he?

 

And why did he fear that he would hate the answer?

 

xXx

 

“Selim!” He heard his mother's voice and felt himself relax. Somehow, she always made him feel safe. He smiled for the first time since they'd reached the police station.

 

She came around the edge of the hall and saw him through the doorway to the small room they'd been instructed to wait in. He sat with a blanket draped across his shoulders to ward off shock, probably looking horrifically pale and tired as she practically ran forward, throwing her arms around him. Next to him, Johannes raised an eyebrow and smirked. Selim found he didn't really care at the moment.

 

“Mama,” he said softly, just reveling in her presence.

 

“What happened?!” she asked, backing away and holding him by his shoulders firmly.

 

“W-we were attacked,” Selim said softly, “by Brigadier General Clemin.”

 

She gasped and began to look him over. “Are you alright?” she asked. “Did he hurt you? How did you escape?”

 

Selim flinched, and Johan suddenly seemed to find the floor particularly interesting. “We ran,” the dark-haired boy replied, probably a little too quickly, but she didn't push it. “He was crazy, kept going on about my father being part of some conspiracy.” Was it just his imagination, or did he feel her stiffen? “Was he?” he heard himself ask. He couldn't look in her eyes, too afraid of what he'd find there.

 

“Selim, tell me exactly what he said,” she spoke softly, her voice suddenly far more serious than it had been moments before.

 

Selim exchanged glances with Johan for a moment before the blond looked away. “He said Fuhrer Bradley was my adopted father, and that he was supposed to keep the country at war. He also said that everyone in the upper ranks were puppets for my real father.”

 

His mother remained silent for several seconds. Then he felt her hand on his chin. “Selim, he was trying to hurt you, and kill you.”

 

“I know,” he muttered.

 

“Then why is it bothering you so much?”

 

For a moment he considered telling her that the General's words had felt right somehow. Then he saw the worried, almost pleading look in her eyes, and couldn't do it.

 

“I don't know,” he muttered.

 

“Johannes!” two worried voices came from the doorway as Johannes' parents, Colonel and Mrs. Browbeat, came rushing in. His mother, a plump woman with short, dark hair, began to look over him and ask even more questions then Selim's mother had. “There you are! Are you hurt? Are you alright?They told us you were attacked by an escaped criminal! Why did I ever agree to let you walk home alone?! We knew this would happen eventually, what with your father's position! What happened? Why were you walking home so late?” Meanwhile, Johan's father, a tall, thin man with graying hair stood by quietly overlooking the situation. He had an impeccable blue uniform on, despite the late hour of the day.

 

“'Mm fine, mom,” Johan muttered, trying to back away from her unsuccessfully.

 

“Well, I think this should end your notions of walking home, young man!” She said sternly, standing up and suddenly looking rather cross.

 

“What?!” Johan exclaimed. “But mom--”

 

“We'll talk about this in the car,” Johan's dad said, speaking up for the first time in a quiet, but firmly commanding voice.

 

Neither Johan nor Mrs. Browbeat looked happy, but they complied with a nod. Then Johan slumped back against the worn police chair, not quite a motion of defeat, but not exactly full of confidence either. Selim always found it interesting that the blond seemed to be such a different person around his parents than the kids at school.

 

“Come on,” Mrs. Browbeat said with only the barest sigh, then looked over at Selim and broke into a smile. “I'm so glad you're alright too, Selim. Thank you for protecting my son.”

 

“Actually,” Selim heard himself say, then seemed to realize what he'd just done, and looked down, blushing. “Actually, he protected me.”

 

Mrs. Browbeat blinked, looking between Selim and Johan. “Really? My Johannes?”

 

“Mom,” Johan muttered, but Selim could tell he was pleased with the attention.

 

“I think it's time we--” Col. Browbeat started, but someone opening the door cut him off.

 

“Mr. Bradley and Mr. Browbeat,” a nasally voice said. The policeman that voice belonged to stood in the doorway, blocking it rather effectively. He wasn't exactly thin, and he didn't look up once as he read the report on the clip board in front of him. “It seems that your story was confirmed. We found evidence of a fight where you indicated as well as the remains of a gun, but it seems the perpetrator has gotten away...” he faded off as he looked up and saw the adults in the room. Immediately he saluted, dropping the clip board he'd been reading off of and letting it clatter to the floor. “M-madam Bradley! Col. Browbeat!”

 

“Baker,” Selim's mother said softly. The man's proclamation didn't help the situation. Did she really look that much like the former Fuhrer's wife?

 

“At ease, officer,” Johan's father said tiredly.

 

“Y-yes sir,” the balding man stuttered.

 

“I believe it is time for us to take our children home,” the Col. said quietly, but with obvious authority.

 

The officer only barely held back a wince from the look on his face. “Of course, sir,” he said quickly. “Just let me go get the release forms.”

 

“We'll follow you.”

 

Again, the authority was undeniable, and Selim couldn't help but find himself impressed. When he grew up, he hoped he had as much control over his own life as Col. Browbeat seemed to have over his.

 

The small group followed the heavily set officer down the hallway and stopped at a desk where another officer sat. After the first officer explained the situation, they got the forms out to be signed fairly quickly. Then Selim and Johannes were shunted out the main doors and to their respective cars. To Selim, it all happened in a blur he only snapped out of when he saw one of Johan's chauffeurs open the Browbeat's car door.

 

“See you tomorrow,” Selim called. Johannes nodded as he was pushed into the back of the car and their driver started the engine. Meanwhile, the Selim's own chauffeur also started their vehicle.

 

With one final wave to the other car, Selim sighed and got in the back of the small, black limo. When they got inside, his mother closed the door, and pressed a button to shut the window between them and the front seat so they could have some privacy. Once alone, Mrs. Bradley turned a sharp eye on him.

 

“What's wrong?” she asked.

 

“What?” he replied.

 

She regarded him. “You're not acting normally. You've been very aloof and distant.”

 

He shot her a dry look. “I was just attacked by a maniac for nothing more than a silly, imagined reason. We actually managed to get away from him to somewhere safe and they kept us shut in a room while they investigated.” He shuddered.

 

“They didn't lock the door, did they?” his mother asked worriedly.

 

Selim shook his head, and she heaved a small sigh of relief. He'd always had a severe claustrophobia and tended not to do well locked up. Especially in the dark.

 

“Oh Selim, you had me so worried when you didn't come home or call me.”

 

“I'm 15,” he muttered.

 

“And you can get ambushed like anyone else,” she commented sternly. “If you had called, I wouldn't have had the police and half the army out looking for you all night.”

 

Fat lot of good that did, Selim thought dejectedly. “We just went to get something to eat. Is that so wrong?” Selim responded, turning to look out of the tinted windows. “We lost track of time.”

 

Mrs. Bradley sighed, slumping back against the leather seats. “Oh, Selim. This is why I want you escorted.”

 

“I can take care of myself,” he said, a touch of anger coloring his words.

 

“Like you did tonight?”

 

“I'm alive, aren't I?” He shot, glancing over at her just in time to see her close her eyes as if in pain. Then he realized just what he'd said. Of course he was alive, but what about the other family members his mother had lost? Her husband. Her first son. Most of her extended family... No wonder she was scared to lose him.

 

It was his turn to sigh. “Mom, I'm sorry,” he said softly. “Johan was having a bad day, so I wanted to cheer him up. That's all. I'll be more careful. I promise.”

 

She looked up at him with that sad, wistful look that she normally reserved for their arguments. It almost seemed as if she were thinking of someone else when she looked at him like that. “I still think you should be punished.” Yeah, he'd seen that coming. “You're grounded until the end of the week.”

 

He sighed again, this time in resignation as he nodded. “Yes ma'am.” Actually, he'd probably gotten off pretty easily.

 

They sat in silence for a while. The lack of sound besides the motor didn't feel awkward, but it did seem rather strained. After a moment, Selim decided that now would probably be the best time to ask, when no one else was around and she could tell him the truth.

 

“Mom?”

 

She looked over at him. “Yes, Selim?”

 

“What is a homonculus?”

 

He'd figured she would either look at him with confusion or dismiss the inquiry completely. Instead, she dropped her purse, spilling the contents everywhere. As Selim watched, her face grew pale--far paler than he'd ever seen before--as she stared at him with wide eyes.

 

“Mom?” he asked, suddenly worried. “Are you alright?”

 

“W-where did you hear that?” she managed, her voice breathless. “From Clemin?” Selim nodded slowly.

 

She continued to stare at him for several more seconds before turning to her own window. “They're beings created with Alchemy.”

 

“Oh. He said that my father was--”

 

“Selim,” she turned on him so quickly he almost hadn't been able to follow her movement. “Drop this subject now. Forget you ever heard about it. It will only bring you pain and misery. Please.”

 

It was too out of the ordinary for her to interrupt him. He knew he'd hit too close to something. His eyes hardened. “Was my father a homonculus?” He spit the question out before he'd really registered that he wanted to ask it.

 

“Selim,” she whispered. “Please.” He'd never heard her sound so desperate. The worry from before returned in full swing.

 

“Mom...” he started gently. “Mom, I--” but she cut him off with a shake of her head, biting her lip as she turned away.

 

They rode the rest of the way in silence.

 

xXx

 

Two days later

 

“What do you have for me, Major Fury?” Major General Roy Mustang asked as he turned to the door in his swivel chair. It took him a moment to focus on the figure, as it always did. When the figure did indeed come into focus, he knew something had come up. Fury didn't look worried or grim like that for no reason. Yet again, he found himself almost regretting moving to the larger office of a Major General and leaving his men to their own ranks and rooms. Almost.

 

“Sir,” Fury said, snapping a salute before hurrying inside. “I have some disturbing news.”

 

“Have you caught Clemin yet?” Roy asked with a sigh.

 

Fury frowned and shook his head. “No, sir,” he said quietly, adjusting the glasses on his nose. “He's managed to avoid us so far, but we currently have several leads, some of which lead us out of the city.”

 

Roy nodded. “Very well, Major. You have permission to follow any leads necessary.”

 

The dark-haired major nodded. “Thank you, sir, but that is not the reason for my report.”

 

Roy raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

 

“We found another assassin, sir.”

 

Roy almost swore aloud. “In the ranks?”

 

Fury nodded, if anything his face looked even more grim than before. “Yes, sir.”

 

“Good work,” Roy put a hand up to his chin, cupping it thoughtfully with his finger and thumb. “Have they confessed?”

 

“Yes sir. They claim to be from the FFO.”

 

Roy sighed. FFO, the terrorist group that claimed to be a rebellion fighting for freedom from oppression. 'Freedom From Oppression Society' as they called themselves. Frankly, with their tactics, Roy thought they could only seriously consist of criminals already on the run from the government and young brats who had no idea what real war was all about. They were a rad-tag group of terrorists at best, with little real leadership and no real plan other than “assassinate the Fuhrer”. He doubted they'd even thought further than that.

 

“Very well,” he said, looking up at Fury who still stood at attention. “Send me the file and I will question them myself.”

 

“Yes, sir.” Fury said again, then paused. “There is something else, sir.”

 

“Yes?”

 

Fury put a picture down on his desk. At first Roy didn't really understand what he was supposed to see. Then it clicked and his eyes widened. The weapon itself wouldn't be that out of the ordinary; an older model of a fairly common, semi-automatic rifle used for heavy mobile combat. Something only really large men could carry easily. What drew attention was the fact that it had been completely severed in two. Cleanly, from what he could see of the cut.

 

What cut through a metal gun without leaving so much as a dent?

 

“What's this?”

 

“We found that, sir. Two boys claimed they were attacked by Clemin. Apparently they were taking a shortcut home, and that's when they claimed they were attacked. When the police went to investigate the site, they found this, and some other evidence of a struggle.” More pictures appeared on the desk. Several dozen rounds of bullets littered the little-used street, followed by pictures of holes in walls, trees and the street itself. “Clemin's fingerprints were found on the gun.”

 

Roy looked over the pictures again, then glanced back up at his underling. “What of the boys?”

 

“Apparently they escaped.”

 

“Did they say what did this?” Roy pointed to the picture of the mutilated gun.

 

Fury shook his head. “No, sir. Not in their statements, and the policeman who was supposed to ask them questions did a...less than thorough job.”

 

“I see. Perhaps we should question them.”

 

“We have already visited their houses sir. They claim to have no idea what happened to the weapon and that it was whole before they were able to get away.”

 

Roy shook his head. “We need to find out what did this.”

 

“Sir,” Fury ventured uncertainly. “I do have a theory...”

 

Blinking, Roy looked up, eyebrows raised. “Yes?”

 

Fury swallowed nervously. Very odd. He knew Roy welcomed his opinion. Suddenly the General got a feeling he wasn't going to like this.

 

“Well, you see, sir, one of the boys attacked was Selim Baker, also known as Selim Bradley.”

 

Sometimes Roy hated being right.

 

xXx

 

Alright, if you've read this far, than at least let me know. ^^; Thanx, guys.

Edited March 24, 2012 by Guest

[Myth Hunter]

I made it this far!!!

 

I love Fullmetal Alchemist. This is really good, I love how you have done the story on Selim. He was an interesting character in the manga/anime and it's nice to see a fanfic on him post series.

 

My favourite line: His pride would not allow it.

[Obi-quiet]

I was hoping you'd like it. I know you like FMA as much as I do (or more, which is saying quite a lot >.> <.< >.> )

 

Selim was an interesting character, and I thought he got infinitely more interesting at the very end when he goes running up to Mrs. Bradley...yeah. ^^;

 

I'm going to play off of the pride thing a lot (that was one of my favorite lines too). I think it would have a huge impact/effect on his life. I would also think they would have done everything in their power to try and work him past that/stamp it out of him (depending on the person). I also think that pride is the root of all evil (my own personal opinion) and that it is the hardest to detect/fix, so he'll still have it in abundance. ^^;

 

Thank you so much, hon!

[jedi_master_gimpy]

I got this far, as well!

 

I don't feel quite as lost with the introduction which Myth already gave us to Fullmetal Alchemy, but of course the focus is on completely different characters for the most part (or at least the majority of the first chapter). How much of what happened here or what was alluded to from the past is part of the cannon story as described by the series?

 

It was a very good start. Very long, lol - I've been so busy and sat down to read it but had to break it up over a couple sittings because of the time I had available! The characters came through with solid personalities, and you gave enough description for me (as a FMA illiterate) to still understand it without giving brain dumps. There is definitely a bit of a mystery in how Selim has appeared a generation later without appearing to have aged, and how/why he seems to have forgotten so much!

 

Also, while he appears to be the protagonist at first, the inner darkness that was so quick to rise up (and the pride, something I began to see glimpses of but didn't catch on to as much as MH, not being familiar with the series) makes me wonder how much I'll sympathize with him - he seems like he could stray near the edge of the villain as well. And apparently his father did go there!

 

Anywho - very solid writing all around. I'm looking forward to more!

[Obi-quiet]

Gimpy!

 

First of all, thank you so much for the review! I greatly appreciate it.

 

Fullmetal tends to be a bit hard to follow until you get some of the concepts...and then it's rather like you're in on the joke. It has a surprisingly well-done, interesting society that's just similar enough to some that we know today to make it relatable while still being very distant. So if you read through anything Myth had, than you probably will have a little easier time reading this just because that's what the fandom tends to lend itslef to (THANX MYTH!)

 

I get into a little alchemy later on, but it's all speculation on my part. Here's what you need to know:

 

Human kind cannot gain anything without equal sacrifice. To gain, something of equal value must be lost. This is Alchemy's first rule: Equivalent Exchange.

 

So no alchemist could make a building out of a pebble because there isn't enough raw material there to begin with.

 

Alchemy is a science because of this. The art of breaking down something at the subatomic level, rearranging the molecules and cells to make something else.

 

Amestris (the country they live in, think about where Turkey is today, or about the same place) has two laws/rules about alchemy: 1. No human transmutation--this tends to have dire natural consequences. 2. Do not turn anything into gold -- this tends to throw off the economy.

 

I know it's long...longer than my normal chapters. Thank you so much for reading this far!

 

Quote: There is definitely a bit of a mystery in how Selim has appeared a generation later without appearing to have aged, and how/why he seems to have forgotten so much!

 

Answer: That's actually answered at the end of the manga. and the series. ^^;

 

Stray near the edge of villainry? It's interesting you should say that, but I won't tell you why.

[Amidala Skywalker]

I, too, made it through the monster post!

 

Really interesting start. I am not at all familiar with FMA, so I'm glad that I didn't feel too out of the loop. At least Selim is also confused about stuff like homonculi and these mysterious shadows he can apparently summon. I'm looking forward to seeing that explained!

 

I hope there will be some info on the political situation, since it seems like it will be important. Is this Fuhrer's government good? Or is it more like the Empire and this Freedom from Oppression group is like the Rebels? I wouldn't normally mind the lack of details, but like I said, I get the feeling it might be important to the future of the story.

 

Very interesting beginning. I'll definitely keep reading to see what happens.

[jedi_master_gimpy]

Answer: That's actually answered at the end of the manga. and the series. ^^;

 

As long as you're going to explain it later in the story which, from the way you've opened in Chapter 1, would be a likely assumption, I suppose I can get by with waiting now. Siiiigh.

 

Stray near the edge of villainry? It's interesting you should say that, but I won't tell you why.

[Obi-quiet]

Good questions Amidala (btw, *GLOMP* for reading through that!).

 

The Fuhrer system is a lot like the government during Hitlar's time (a monarchy with councilers). The leader is more or less voted into office for an indefinite amount of time (at least they don't define it in the series). I think that's why the woman called the leader a "Fuhrer". Truthfully, think of it more like the Old Republic, where there is a president, except he has a little more power and it's more military based. Basically, the highest ranking officer becomes the next leader of the country.

 

Like any system, if the leader is corrupt, the whole thing tends to be corrupt. When the leader is good (like it is during this time) and honest (if a bit harsh, but you'll meet the current fuhrer later), it isn't a bad system. The FFO is a lot like the rebels, except nowhere near as intelligent. In SW, the Rebels mostly wanted freedom for the Galaxy. The FFO just wants the system to change to their ideas. They're willing to make sacrifices if they have to.

 

I wouldn't say the government is good or bad, and the same with the FFO. I'm focusing more on the leaders, if that makes any sense.

 

I'm blathering now, aren't I.

 

I'm really happy people can read this and not feel too lost. There will be a lot of things that those who don't know FMA probably won't get, but hopefully that won't make it any less of an interesting story.

 

EDIT:

 

Gimpy! LOL You posted just as I did. Beat me to it there.

 

back.

 

Well, the whole thing about Selim being the way he is and why is a big part of the plot, so I hope it's explained satisfactorily. I will tell you that there are a LOT of spoilers for the Manga later on. ^^; I kind of can't explain it now without spoiling this story too, so yeah. I hope that isn't too vague of an explanation.

[Obi-quiet]

Sheesh, another monstrous post. They get shorter after this, I promise!

 

P.S. Any of you willing to beta read this for me? ^^; Can't seem to get ahold of my current beta reader.

 

CHAPTER 2

 

"Selim," Johan's voice stopped the dark-haired teen on the school stairs, and he turned around to see his friend come panting up behind him. Selim waited for a moment for the blond to catch his breath, trying not to feel uneasy at the dim light and fairly enclosed space of the stairwell. "Are you going to stay in the library through lunch period again?"

 

"Yes," Selim shrugged and turned to continue walking. Johan hurried to keep up.

 

"Selim, you've been going over every alchemy book in there for the last two weeks. Don't think I didn't notice. You're not going to find anything," Johan protested.

 

"I might."

 

"Then you would have already."

 

Selim shook his head. "You don't get it, I have to do this. I have to try."

 

Johan made a frustrated grunt. "What did that guy say to you that has you so fixated on studying alchemy? You can't even do it, so why?"

 

For a moment, Selim considered lying to his friend. He'd been avoiding the subject since the night Clemin had attacked them. Still, he'd known that if he gave up his lunch periods to study, it would only be a matter of time before Johan confronted him. Unfortunately, he had no other time to try and figure it out. For his own safety, he'd been given strict instructions to stay on campus all day, and while they could still walk to and from school, they both had escorts and were to go directly home afterwards. He didn't dare broach the topic of a homunculus with his mother again, either.

 

He opened his mouth, ready to say something calming and completely untrue, but seeing the worried, determined look in Johan's eyes, he knew he couldn't outright lie. Sighing, he turned and continued upstairs. "I'm looking up information on homunculuses."

 

Johan's footsteps stopped. "What are those?"

 

"Artificial beings created by alchemy," Selim repeated his mother's words tonelessly.

 

"They're what? Selim, why?" Selim turned to face his friend, but didn't say anything. "Was it because of what he said?" the blond asked worriedly. Again, Selim didn't answer, and looked away. "Selim, he's insane! Probably wasn't all there before he attempted the coup! He only said that to hurt you. He was trying to distract you so he could kill you! Of course he was going to-"

 

"No," Selim interrupted. "He wasn't saying those things just to throw me off. He meant them."

 

"Did you miss the 'insane' part?" Johan exclaimed, throwing his arm out to emphasize his point and hit his hand against a wall. "OW!" he yelped, shaking his hand quickly through the air, grimace firmly on his face before a scowl settled on it.

 

Selim smiled, but when he answered, his voice was completely serious. "Well, if it isn't true, then I don't have anything to worry about, do I?" he responded, trying to shrug his friend's worry off as he turned to continue up the steps.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Johan massage the bridge of his nose with his good hand. "You're not going to give up on this, are you?" he stated the question dryly. The dark-haired-boy snorted softly, hiding a small smile. His friend knew all too well that Selim didn't give up. Couldn't handle the blow to his pride.

 

"I have to know," he said finally, not turning around. He couldn't explain it to himself, let alone anyone else, but Clemin's words had cut him to the very core of his being. It felt like a long-forgotten dream or memory, and he still didn't think the ex-general was ranting or raving just for the sake of it. It struck a chord so true that he couldn't help but try to figure it out.

 

Johan sighed. "Then it looks like I'm gonna have to help."

 

Selim almost slipped as he spun around, stunned. "What?" he asked, realizing only a split second later that he must have sounded incredibly dense.

 

"The sooner we figure out that nothing is wrong, the sooner we get our lunch periods back, right?" Johan grinned.

 

A matching grin also found its way onto Selim's face; probably the first real smile since Clemin's attack. "Right!"

 

xXx

 

Eight days later...

 

"Aarg, this is impossible!" Johan complained as he tossed another book on the top of the steadily growing pile they'd already scanned. For once, Selim was beginning to agree. They'd been at this for what seemed like forever and had yet to come across anything even mentioning a homunculus in passing.

 

"I'm not giving up," Selim commented, turning another page in the book he'd picked up. It promised to be completely useless, but he needed to go through it anyway. As of that moment, he'd only made it about a third of the way through the library's alchemy section. That was with Johan's help.

 

"Maybe we're going about this all wrong," the blond boy muttered, massaging his eyes with the palms of his hands. "I mean, you want to know more about your dad, right? That's why we're looking up homunculus stuff to begin with, right?"

 

Selim blinked over at his friend and nodded.

 

"Then maybe we should be looking up stuff about the war and Fuhrer Bradly instead."

 

Selim remained silent for a moment, staring thoughtfully out the nearby window at the low, gray clouds that had rolled in that morning. "That might be an alley of thought worth exploring, but only once we have gone through all the alchemy books here."

 

He could tell Johan was trying not to look frustrated. "How 'bout I start on the history thing, and you keep going with the alchemy, seeing as you're the one who actually understands this stuff."

 

Johan was right in that regard. Only so much could be understood without application, and Johan had commented that he'd passed his capacity for understanding the mechanics of alchemy the first day he'd tried to help. Strangely enough, Selim seemed to be the exception to the rule. He had little problem really understanding anything in the books, despite his inability to perform alchemy himself. He almost felt...familiar with the concepts.

 

"Very well," Selim conceded with a nod.

 

"Yes!" Johan literally jumped up and ran down to the other end of the library. Selim smiled and shook his head. Honestly, when else would he be so excited to study history?

 

xXx

 

Three days later...

 

"So," Johan muttered around the apple he was currently devouring. Selim had been trying to ignore him as his own ever present hunger seemed to perk up whenever anyone else ate anything in front of him. "About the shadow thing..."

 

"It was a fluke," Selim muttered.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Johan look up at him incredulously. "How can you say that?"

 

"Because, I can't do it now," he muttered, trying not to sound annoyed. "Look," he held out his hand at some of the shadows on the desk caused by the stacks of books they'd gotten out to look over that day. Johan watched uncertainly as Selim tried to get the shadows to move with no success. "See? Nothing. Just a fluke."

 

Johan didn't look entirely convinced, but he shrugged and went back to the historical encyclopedia he'd been leafing through. They sat in relative silence while Johan finished his apple and the page he was on. Selim had just gotten to something that looked rather promising when a loud noise jerked his attention back to the table.

 

Slam! Selim jumped and looked up at Johan in surprise. The blond was staring down at the closed history book in front of him on the old, worn library table with a funny expression on his face. An expression Selim couldn't quite place.

 

"Johan?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

 

Johan blinked, as if he didn't know where he was. "Huh?" he asked, then looked around. Once his pupils landed on Selim, recognition and a fair share of worry entered those brown eyes. "Oh. Nothing. A spider crawled onto the page."

 

Selim raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't comment further. Returning to his book, he dismissed the incident. If Johan had found something worth mentioning, he would tell Selim.

 

He went back to reading without another thought, hoping to get in as much research time as he could before the bell rang.

 

xXx

 

Four days later

 

"Yo," Johan muttered, laying his bag down on one of the seats as he slumped into the creaking chair and glancing out the window that pierced the dim, library light. "I'm gonna go back to the alchemy books with you."

 

"No luck?" Selim asked with a sigh.

 

Johan shrugged and reached for one of the books off the top of the stack beside Selim.

 

"It's still a good idea. I plan on researching that idea next," Selim commented.

 

Johan shook his head and raised an eyebrow. "Thorough much?"

 

Selim returned the gesture with a smile, trying to make sure it looked particularly sincere, as his friend's had seemed rather forced for some reason.

 

For a moment, he wondered if he should actually inquire after his friend, but dismissed the thought. If it was something Selim could help with, Johan would ask him to help. Until then, he'd allow Johan his privacy.

 

xXx

 

When he got home from school that night, he found his mother pacing by the door. Some policemen were there with her, asking questions. They all stopped and looked up once Selim opened the door.

 

"Oh, Selim!" Mrs. Bradley said. "Come in, quickly."

 

"Mom?" Selim asked unsurely, glancing at the two police. "What's going on?"

 

She stood in front of him, ringing her hands. "We received a note. It was...delivered to our house." She nodded over to one of the policemen.

 

"It was addressed to you," he said, handing him some gloves and then an envelope. Taking his cue, Selim slipped on the gloves and fumbled with the envelope for a few moments, finally managing to take the paper inside out.

 

I'm still here, was all it said in bulky but neat handwriting. That's all that needed to be said. Selim glared down at the paper that would guarantee his continued lack of freedom and felt the dredges of a deep rage stir within him. This man was responsible for his parents' deaths and almost killed him. Worse, he'd almost killed Johan as well. No doubt he'd try to kill Selim's adopted mother if he ever got the chance. There was no doubt in his mind about those thoughts.

 

He'd just started in on all the horrible things he would do to this man when his mother's voice broke through his thoughts.

 

"Selim?"

 

"I get it," Selim said, thrusting the note back at the policeman. "I'll be in my room."

 

xXx

 

It was dark again, and not the familiar, comforting dark of his room. This dark seemed to hold an unnamable menace that seeped deep below the skin to dig relentlessly at ones consciousness. Selim desperately wanted to leave the darkness, but his body wouldn't let him.

 

They were underground. The dank atmosphere said as much, but somehow, he'd already known that. Pipes and cold cement surrounded him in a sort of organized mess.

 

"Come, my son," the man on the strange, make-shift throne gestured for him to come forward. Selim felt himself move before he'd really realized he was being addressed. It surprised him just how much he wanted to follow that order...and any order given by this man. It scared him. Deeply. "Report."

 

Selim knelt down on one knee respectfully. "We have located two possible sacrifices. Two boys who have seen the Gate of Truth. It will take some time to bring them here, but I am confident we can succeed."

 

The man turned and looked at him with a completely blank expression. "You have done well, my son. Inform Wrath."

 

Selim nodded, realizing with a sick stomach that he'd just felt a shot of glee at the promise of another's pain. Was this really him? He wasn't sure he wanted to know. He turned his eyes up to the blond-haired man with a beard. "Of course, Father."

 

"Selim!" a voice jerked him awake. His first instinct was to jump at and attack the noise, the unknown factor in the situation. Before he could, though, he saw his mother's worried, lined face above him.

 

"M-mom?" he asked uncertainly. Neither one of them noticed the shadows in the room that had begun to move forward settle back to normal.

 

"Shhh," she said softly, drawing him forward and into her arms. He allowed her to as he willed his heartbeat to slow down. "You haven't had a nightmare that badly in a long time." He nodded, not really able to say anything. Instead, he simply sat there, reveling in his mother's warmth, and allowing himself to feel her safety.

 

"I didn't mean to wake you," he finally managed to say.

 

He could almost feel her smile. "I already couldn't sleep. When I walked by, I heard you moaning. No yelling this time. You didn't wake me up."

 

Somehow he felt that had been a lie. He didn't care. It was the sweetest lie he'd ever heard.

 

xXx

 

Thirteen days later...

 

Selim's breath came out visibly in the crisp morning as he sighed at the front cover of the newspaper that showed Clemin glaring out of a picture. The words "Escaped Prisoner Still at Large!" practically screamed at him as he passed the news stand. Apparently the ex-general had skipped town, because no one had seen him since his attack on the two boys more than a month before. At least that's what the papers said. After the threatening letter, though, he found little comfort in their assumptions. Clemin was just lying low for now.

 

Not wanting to dwell on it, he quickly put the thought out of mind and turned his attention back to lunch. Johan had helped him finish up going through all the alchemy books in the library a little over a week before and they hadn't even glimpsed so much as a word about homunculuses.

 

That's when Johan had suggested that they go through his family's library. Apparently Col. Browbeat had an entire section devoted to Alchemy. Selim had quickly agreed, and each day his friend sneaked a few more books for them to look through during lunch. It still wasn't looking very hopeful, though. Selim was convinced they would be the most knowledgeable non-alchemists in the country by the time they actually finished”¦if they weren't already. Still, Johan's help had been invaluable, and he found himself looking forward to the new information his friend would bring every day. The tomes from Col. Browbeat's library certainly had more information than the pathetic school books.

 

"Johan!" he called out as he recognized his friend's figure next to the familiar form of Johan's bodyguard outside of the school gates. When the two groups didn't meet up on the way, they would usually end up waiting for the other party outside of the school grounds.

 

"Thanks, guys!" Selim said to his own two bodyguards, Sam and Nick, hinting that they could leave. The two large men never did, but that didn't faze Selim. He broke into a jog, leaving them behind as he approached his friend.

 

As soon as Johan turned around, he knew something was wrong.

 

"Johan?" he asked worriedly, slowing to a walk. To his surprise, the bodyguard (Mark, if Selim remembered correctly) stepped between them, glaring down at Selim, who froze in his tracks. The guy didn't really scare him, but Selim had to wonder just why he would do that.

 

Johan shot Mark a glare as he stepped around him.

 

"Young Master," the man protested, but Johan cut him off.

 

"I've got to explain it to him sometime. Back off." Mark didn't look too pleased, but he nodded and didn't move.

 

Selim looked over his shoulder at his own bodyguards for a moment and then back at Johan warily. "Explain what?" he asked.

 

Johan couldn't seem to meet his eyes. "My parents told me I can't hang 'round you anymore. They don't want me to be your friend."

 

It took a minute for those words to sink in, and when he did, the world fell away from underneath them. For as long as Selim could remember it had been him and Johan. He'd always felt that he could do anything with Johan by his side. They were best friends after all.

 

"What brought this on?" Selim asked. "Why-?"

 

"Dad caught me raiding the library last night. They asked me why I wanted to know about Alchemy. I don't know how he does it, but I can never lie to him. He always sees right through me. I've been taking notes...they saw those too."

 

Selim dropped his eyes. "You told him."

 

Johan nodded. "Sorry."

 

Selim shrugged. What else could he do?

 

"After that, they said I can't be friends with you anymore," Johan concluded, his voice fading into a mutter.

 

"Did they even give you a reason?"

 

Johan shook his head, but Selim could tell he was hiding something. "If I didn't agree, they were going to make me transfer schools."

 

"But...why?"

 

"I don't know. I..." a large hand on Johan's shoulder cut him off, and he seemed to slump beneath it. "I gotta go."

 

"Yeah," Selim muttered.

 

"Sorry," Johan muttered again as he allowed the body guard to lead him away.

 

Selim could only stand there, watching him go. "Me too."

 

xXx

 

Saying Selim was miserable didn't even begin to touch on the depth of the situation. He couldn't seem to remember the last time he'd felt so utterly despondent. His research suddenly became a chore, and his productivity dropped far lower than when he'd originally been studying by himself, not to mention he had to go back to only school library books. They'd gone through all of the Alchemy books, so that left history. Despite the rather interesting, local events that had occurred in the past, he would find his mind wandering on more than one occasion, refusing to focus on anything other than the birds flying by as he gazed out of the window beside his favorite table in the library.

 

His grades had begun to suffer too.

 

Truthfully, he'd never realized just how much he'd come to rely on Johan's company. As the days passed, he also began to realize just how alone he was without the other boy. He knew other students, yes, but he didn't really know them, and he found himself unwilling to even make an effort to try and make more real friends. Not to mention most of the other teens seemed a bit wary of him anyway. He couldn't figure out why, which frustrated him to no end, which in turn did little to encourage any social behavior. As a result, he tended to retreat to his own corner every class and lunchtime, and no one seemed eager to drag him out.

 

Whenever he saw Johan in the hallways between classes, both of them would smile sadly, wave or nod and continue on. Apparently the teachers had instructions to keep them apart, and even his mother hadn't had any words of wisdom. He knew she'd tried to talk to the Browbeats, but nothing had come of it as far as Selim could see.

 

The days crawled by, and yet it seemed to have rushed past all too quickly as the deep winter months approached. Selim would still spend his lunches in the library, trying to read in between the lines of what had been recorded about the war. It was interesting, and kind of strange to see someone who looked so much like himself in the pictures behind Fuhrer Bradley. The Bradley child always had a supporting, adoring smile, but something about him seemed almost ancient to Selim. Sometimes he'd swear he could sense something sinister. Whenever he found his train of thought going down those roads, he would always start a new book. He did not want to think disrespectfully of the dead, nor of someone his mother may have cared for. She had been related to Madam Bradley after all.

 

The first snowfall of the year came and went, and All Hallow's Eve approached, the ancient holiday of feasting with the spirits of the dead. Just days before the holiday, Selim flopped down into his usual seat and slowly pulled the book he'd started the day before. He had just gotten settled into the biography about Fuhrer Bradley when the sound of something heavy falling on the dusty table in front of him jolted him out of his personal study/pity party. His eyes immediately went to the tome that had appeared before him. He could tell it easily outweighed the library's dictionary. On the almost new cover it said in clear, bold letters: Advanced Alchemic Theory and Applications: The Revised Edition.

 

For a moment, he just stared at the book. Then, blinking rapidly, Selim looked up at the figure across the table. Johan stood there, same as ever; slightly plump face below sandy colored hair, and sad brown eyes. When Selim saw him there, his hopes rose for a moment and he couldn't help but smile.

 

"Johan?" he asked, almost afraid he was seeing things.

 

His friend didn't smile back. "It's 'homunculi'."

 

Selim blinked again, slightly confused. "What?"

 

"It's not 'homunculuses', it's 'homunculi'."

 

Selim's eyes widened as his mind finally processed the implications of those words, and he looked back down at the book hungrily.

 

"You mean...?" he asked, reaching out to touch it almost as if it were a sacred object.

 

"Yeah. Newest version. Recently updated."

 

"Where did you get it?" Selim asked, opening the cover and looking over the table of continents, along with the copyrights.

 

"I sneaked it out of Dad's library last night," Johan replied with a shrug, as if getting this monstrous thing out of or into any place without someone knowing was a common occurrence. "He won't miss it. I need it back in a week, though."

 

Selim got the hidden message and smiled sadly. "So, we still can't be friends, huh?"

 

Johan sighed. "I'm working on it. I'll wear them down eventually, okay?"

 

"Yeah."

 

They stood in silence for a few seconds before Johan spoke again, his voice quiet. "I warned you."

 

"Yeah," Selim replied. "You did."

 

"I gotta go," Johan said, turning around and grabbing a random book off of the shelf. "Later."

 

"Yeah." Funny, his vocabulary wasn't normally restricted to one word. Selim watched his friend turn the corner out of the aisle where their table was situated. His eyes lingered on the now empty space for a few moments before turning to look back at the enormous tome in front of him. Setting his own historical encyclopedia aside, he reached forward and opened the alchemy book to the first page.

 

xXx

 

Selim didn't just read the book, he devoured it. Never before had he come across a theory book that actually challenged his mental capacity to this extent. That, and he found the subjects contained in the book to be fascinating.

 

And that was all before he got to the section on homunculi.

 

Homunculi, it seemed, were indeed artificially created humans, or more specifically humanoids created with alchemy. A long list of common traits took up the first page and a half. Every homunculus had a philosopher's stone at their center (which also intrigued Selim--he'd heard about the mystical gems from bed time stories and tall tales in his childhood), homunculi couldn't die unless those philosopher's stones ran out of energy. Strangely enough, the book said nothing about what kind of energy was necessary. Electricity? Somehow, Selim doubted it.

 

Reading on, he found that according to the book, every homunculus tended to have similar markings that they could hide only if they had enough energy in their philosopher's stone and the will to do so. It then went into detail about "greater homunculi" that had a personality and could act on their own, and "lesser homunculi" which would only move forward with a body's basic instinct to feed, no matter the conditioning beforehand.

 

The lesser homunculi had red lines running across their bodies and one single eye, while the greater homunculi had a tattoo of an oroboros””a snake eating its tail. Selim heaved a sigh of relief when he didn't see anything about coin-sized targets similar to the one on his own forehead.

 

Each homunculus had some sort of power as well. That part did make Selim uneasy. Trying to dispel the worry, he glanced down at his shadow before continuing on.

 

The lesser homunculi tended to just be able to eat anything organic, and bullets didn't affect them. They didn't die unless they were quite literally blown apart or burned to death. Selim quickly shoved those descriptions out of his mind, rather disgusted. How would anyone know that? Or did he even want to know how they'd discovered that?

 

The book didn't go into the different powers of the greater homunculi.

 

It didn't get much better as the book went on. Many alchemists believed that homunculi didn't have souls. Where would an artificial soul come from, after all? Others would theorize the person who created the homunculus would give up part of their soul to the being. Still others believed that a homunculus would have a soul just like any human.

 

No one really knew for sure. With the anti-human transmutation law in effect, it was difficult to believe that anyone would find out soon. Not that Selim really wanted them to. The kind of half-life that any such creature would undoubedtly have did not sound appealing to him at all, and he wouldn't wish it on anyone.

 

Well...maybe Clemin.

 

After he'd spent three lunch periods reading and rereading the section on homunculi, the weekend came and he had to put off his research. He didn't dare even take that book out at home. When the beginning of the week rolled around, he began to make a list for and against his being a homunculus, going through the book more slowly for reference. By the fifth day, he'd almost completed it and Johan found him working on it when he came to pick up the book exactly one week after giving it to Selim.

 

"Did you find anything useful?" he asked, taking a seat across from the dark-haired boy casually.

 

"Yes," he responded eagerly. "Look, here are the traits of a homunculus. The checked ones are those that I have as well."

 

Johan looked down the list, reading each word carefully. "You don't even have half of these checked," he commented slowly, sounding a little relieved himself. "And the special powers?"

 

"Well, I can't do anything with the shadows anymore, but I could then. We both saw," Selim responded uneasily. "That's why I put a question mark beside it."

 

"You also have a question mark beside 'difficult to kill'."

 

Selim shrugged. "I wouldn't know. Don't want to find out. I mean I'm only 15. The closest I've been to being killed or seriously hurt is Clemin."

 

"Hmm," Johan responded with a nod before looking up at Selim. "So what do you think?"

 

Selim leaned forward and lowered his voice. "Keep in mind, I don't have any real proof to back my theories, so they are just that: theories. My first theory: my father was a homunculus," he said, holding up his pointer finger. "It would explain why I have these strange traits and why the shadows moved when they did. It's some sort of residual or inherited effect."

 

"Okay..." Johan said warily. "What's your next theory?"

 

Selim chuckled dryly, "That I just got lucky. Or unlucky as the case may be. Somehow Clemin was able to put on a show to psychologically attack me. I'm a normal human with no particularly extraordinary traits. The biggest problem with that one is motive: why me? Just because I look like Selim Bradley? That's the only reason I can think of. I mean, I'm pretty sure that's why my biological mother named me 'Selim' to begin with."

 

"Doesn't that bug you?" Johan asked with a shudder.

 

Selim shrugged. "Not really. It used to, but hasn't for a while now. Like I said, kids are named after famous people all the time."

 

Johan nodded again. "And your other theories?"

 

This time, Selim's smile vanished and he sighed. "The third is that I somehow am a homunculus and Clemin was telling the truth."

 

"But the list..." Johan protested, pointing to the piece of paper still in his hands.

 

Selim nodded. "That is my least probable theory, if only because I would be an extraordinarily human homunculus. I do not have an oroboros tattoo anywhere on my person””believe me I've looked. Now I was born only 15 years ago, and have not had any serious threat to my life, so I cannot draw a conclusion based on that information, but”¦." Selim faded off as Johan got that strange look on his face again. Realizing his friend wasn't about to say anything, he continued forward. "I also grow and change, which most homunculi don't. I may or may not have supernatural powers other than a ravenous appetite, and I am not indentured to any human that would have had to create me as far as I know."

 

Johan listened thoughtfully. When Selim finished, he looked down at the book and then relaxed against the back of his chair. "So, in other words, chances are you're human, not homunculus. Satisfied?"

 

Sitting back, Selim thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, for the most part. I think that answers my questions rather accurately."

 

"Good, 'cause I've been over here too long anyway." With a sigh, he reached over and shoved the book into his bag. Then, with some difficulty, he hefted it over his shoulder and smiled on the way out. "Okay, I'll see you later."

 

As Selim watched him go, his spirits began to fall again. "Yeah...sure. Bye."

 

Once alone, he reached down to the table and began to gather up his notes. Placing them all neatly inside of his own bag, he made his way to the library door and walked out. There was nothing left to really research now. Truthfully, he didn't know what to research for. Problem was, although he'd told Johan otherwise, he felt like he had even more questions now than he'd ever had before.

 

And he still hadn't found out anything concrete about his parents.

 

xXx

 

Roy stared at the report sitting on top of the other paperwork scattered half-hazardly across his desk as he leaned back in his chair, chin resting in his hand. Riza stood by, watching him carefully. She didn't say anything. She didn't have to.

 

It came down to either turning a blind eye on a potential enemy, or tearing down the life of one of the most respected women in the country. He hated decisions like these, but someone had to make them.

 

"What did Fuhrer Armstrong say?" he asked softly.

 

"She said the decision should remain with you as you're the one who knows him best."

 

Roy nodded, and couldn't help the sardonic touch that entered his smile. Absently, one of his hands reached up and touched his eyelid. "And she doesn't think I'm too close to the situation?"

 

"You know better than that, sir."

 

This time, he snorted outright. "She hates anything that has to do with me."

 

Riza didn't argue that point. She knew better. "She also trusts you, sir."

 

Either that or she wanted to see him squirm. He wouldn't put it past her. And she'd only gotten worse since they'd practically forced her into office. She hated that chair almost as much as she hated...well, everything else.

 

Roy looked back at the manila folder. According to the reports he'd been receiving, there was no reason for serious alarm. Selim Baker-Bradley had not once acted like Pride in the 15 years as far as they knew. Not that they'd kept the closest eye on him recently. They had other things to do with their field and secret agents than babysit a brat that seemed like any other perfectly normal human. Still, no one felt confident enough to just leave him be. Watches may have diminished to sporadic at best, but neither Roy nor Fuhrer Armstrong would allow for him to be left completely unsupervised.

 

Perhaps they'd left this potential threat alone for too long. According to reports from Col. Browbeat, Selim Bradley had begun to research homunculi after being attacked by Ex-Brigadier General Clemin. Roy's fist clenched. He hadn't thought the man would have degraded to that level of stupidity. Now he may have upset the somewhat precarious balance”¦or awoken a sleeping dragon. Of course, that may have been his plan all along.

 

Without actually talking to Selim Baker, he had no way of knowing.

 

Sighing, Roy looked back up at Riza and nodded. "Bring him in for questioning."

 

Riza nodded curtly before turning and walking out. Roy smiled as he watched her go. As loyal as ever. She had passed up several rank advancements to stay a Lieutenant by his side. She knew what he needed done, and when he needed it. He'd never come across someone who could do as good of a quality rush job since Hughes”¦

 

Ignoring the old pang of regret and sadness, he shook that train of thought from his head and reached into his desk drawer. His hands touched fabric, and he pulled out the white alchemist gloves that had become his signature. One way or another, he may as well get this over with. If he had to, he could take Pride out, just as he'd done with the other two he'd beaten. It wouldn't be difficult.

 

Once all of that was settled, he could focus on other, more important problems, like the fact that FFO had suddenly seemed to gain a competent leader; or the increasingly hostile relationships with at least three of their neighboring countries. Amestris' history of being rather violent towards almost all of the surrounding nations didn't help. It seemed their only neighbor that didn't hate them was Xing, and with how things were shaping up, the Fuhrer was seriously considering asking them for reinforcements, which only opened up a whole new can of worms; transporting them across the desert, making sure they survived the trip and were treated well, not to mention housing, the likely culture clashes and paying them, etc.

 

Then, of course, there was the problem of the escaped ex-brigadier general. No one had heard so much as a whisper about him for weeks, despite the fact that they also had not received any concrete reports of him leaving the city boundaries. Didn't mean he hadn't, and Roy didn't like the idea of him loose and in the country side any more than he liked the idea of him being loose and in Central.

 

Just to top it all off, along with all of that and the normal duties that came with his position, his Alchemy proficiency deadline was approaching all too quickly.

 

He reached a hand up to rub at the bridge of his nose, hoping to stave off the quickly building headache.

 

Maybe he'd just send for Alphonse to come and fight him for the proficiency test; see if he could hold a candle to Ed. It would certainly give him a release for all of his building frustration. None of the current military alchemists seemed to really be worth even trying to fight, except Brigadier General Armstrong...if he even wanted to go that far. The idea of cleaning up after all of that did not appeal to him. Alphonse would at least show some restraint, and it would be nice to see him again.

 

Smiling slightly, he set aside the manila folder labeled "Selim Bradley" and began to read over some of the other reports while making a mental note to give Risembool a call later.

 

xXx

 

He'd have to confront his mother.

 

Selim cursed silently as he came to the conclusion for the umpteenth time that day. No matter how he looked at it, she always popped up as the answer to all of his questions. Problem was, he still could not think of conceivable way to do so. His mother had made it more than clear that the subject of homunculi was not to be broached, but she was also the one who could conceivably present a solution. She'd been close to the Bradleys after all, and she knew something about homunculi. If he wanted figure this out, she would be the person to go to...but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

 

Just bringing up the subject before had seriously frightened her. How could he find a way to ask about the subject without hurting her again? It wasn't possible. That's all there was to it.

 

If only there were someone else he could talk to...like Clemin. Not that he wanted to seek that psychopath out, but he had been close to the Fuhrer. Or maybe someone who just knew more in general about homunculi, like the authors of the book Johan had given him. E. and A. Elric. Maybe he could find a way to contact them-

 

A sudden flare of warning in the back of his mind was all he got, and it was all he needed. As if moving on its own, his body ducked, and he watched with wide eyes as the tree just off to the side splintered; a bullet lodged in the wood.

 

Then he heard a sickening squish and turned around in slow motion to see a blank-eyed Sam fall to the ground, hole neatly in his forehead.

 

"Young Master, run!" he heard Nick yell before another shot silenced him too. Selim watched, horrified for a moment as those two lives flickered out before him. He suddenly felt sick, but Nick's warning was not lost on him. Turning on his heel, he sprinted into the nearby bushes diving inside and ignoring the scratches with some difficulty. Trying not to get his clothes caught on the branches, he scrambled through the brush, desperately looking for a safe place.

 

His foot caught a root, and he went down hard. The wind emptied from his lungs, and he lay there for a few moments as he desperately tried to regain his breath. That's when he heard something large rustling in the bush nearby, coming towards him. Somehow, he knew that the person causing the noise was an enemy. They smelled of fear, anger and aggression. Vaguely wondering how he could smell something like that, he struggled to his feet, more than a little panicked. His scrambling caught up with him as tripped again. Looking back, he saw the cause: His jacket had snagged on several branches.

 

Frantically he tugged and pulled at the school uniform as the person continued to approach. It did no good. The coat refused to budge from the sharp wood. Giving that up for a lost cause, he was about to slip out of the sleeves and leave it when it happened again; the shadows responded. Before his eyes, they surged up, cutting every single branch off in one quick swoop. Suddenly free of his inanimate captor, Selim fell on his backside and stared in shock at where the branch had been, all else temporarily forgotten.

 

The shadows had answered his call that time, he was sure of it. For those seconds, his mind stopped working. The implications of that happening again...

 

He stayed like that just one moment too long. A large figure rushed up behind him, grabbing him with massive arms before he could get away. Snapped out of his miniature trance, Selim struggled as hard as he could.

 

"Let me go!" he yelled, trying to get at the pressure points his defense instructors in school had drilled him on, but he was held tight. Then a smaller, slighter figure came up beside him, placing a cloth over his face before he could get a real look at them. The last thing he remembered before the world blacked out was the question running through his head: Am I really that weak?

[Amidala Skywalker]

Ooh interesting...hmm...Selim's research makes it seem that he's not a homonculus, but the cut away with Roy makes it seem like he might be one. I'm not sure what to think...

 

It'll be interesting to see what this interrogation consists of. Perhaps Selim will get some answers!

[jedi_master_gimpy]

Author's Note: Well, this is something I've had written for a while...

 

...

P.S. Any of you willing to beta read this for me? ^^; Can't seem to get ahold of my current beta reader.

Y'know, I was ready to admonish you about this fic (considering when was the last time I'd heard from you on GF) until I saw your author's note about it being completed. But now you're asking for a beta... Do I need to get out my "work on GF" stick after all? Anywho, in the mean time I picked up a beta job somewhere else and with the holiday season I'm not sure I can do any more for now. Sorry!

 

Johan and Selim's research reminds me a little bit of of the search for information on horcruxes in Harry Potter. They both start with h's, but more the fact it's considered a dark part of history and information is hidden and difficult to find.

 

Warning: Reader guesses which could potentially cause spoilers depending on their accuracy! Skip if you don't want potential spoilers!

 

Clemin seems to know too much and have no reason for tricking Selim regarding this, so my current guess is that Selim IS a homunculus but some special derivative, as shown by his target mark and the descriptions which don't match. Could it have anything to do with the fact that the person who would have created him, Fuhrer Bradley, is dead? Would that erase a hold of some sort? The crazy devotion which Selim remembered from his dream seem to go along with this.

 

I'm also interested in what Roy had to add. It seems that homonculi each personify/embody some type of trait? He thinks Selim is Pride, and in Selim's dream he recalled someone named Wrath. Well, the focus Selim constantly has on his pride would certainly tie in with that. I'm interested as to how that all happens, though.

 

/End spoiler possibilities

 

I'm glad to see that Selim and Johan's friendship does not seem to suffer in strength despite the restrictions put upon them externally. Hopefully that will change, but I doubt that it will be quick or easy! LOL, I'm seeing all sorts of crazy parallels, I think it's because I'm so delirious from overwork that I can't separate storyline properly. See, this is just like Anne (with an "e") and Diana - all Selim needs to do is save Johan's non-existent younger brother and they will be allowed to be friends again.

 

There were a few minor edits I would suggest when Selim flees into the bushes:

 

Turning on his heel he sprinted into the nearby bushes, diving inside and ignoring the scratches with some difficulty.

(Comma removed and comma added by me). I would remove the first comma only because it's acceptable and, by adding the second comma which is more necessary, it keeps this from being too identical of a format as the sentence following it.

 

His scrambling caught up with him as tripped again. Looking back, he saw the cause: His jacket had snagged on several branches.

Technically [nitpick] he did not trip again, since he was snagged around the arm rather than the foot. Since he did trip (root around the foot) just prior to this it stands out a bit more as an incorrect description, at least to me. I would suggest changing this to an alternative - being jerked back or to the side, stumbling, etc...[/nitpick] Just my $0.02

 

Selim appears to be able to control shadows but only instinctively and particularly when frightened or angry right now. Interesting.... I wonder if it's Clemins or someone he works with who has Selim now. That seems to be the most obvious guess, otherwise there would be no need to kill the bodyguards. With any luck some of Roy's forces are already close enough on their way to find Selim to help rescue him. Hmm.... and how will that effect his pride?

Edited November 22, 2011 by Guest

[Obi-quiet]

Note: SPOILERS TO FOLLOW! IF THAT BOTHERS YOU, SKIP THIS!

 

Alright, Gimpy, let me amend that: I've had several chapters written for a while. It hasn't been beta'd (although my amazing friend who happens to be my back up has taken up the job temporarily) and I've written up to about chapter six (where I'm stuck, but I finally got past that! WOOT! Not well, mind you, but it's better to get something down over nothing).

 

GF stick? *nervous* Do I want to know? Because if I SHOULD know, it's slipped my mind... *bows deeply* IN WHICH CASE I'M SORRY!

 

I don't know if I should chalk it up to the fact that I'm a GOOD writer or a BAD one, seeing your guesses. They're not a hundred percent accurate, but those are some DANG good guesses.

 

The Homonculi from the series all did indeed embody one of the seven deadly sins (and there is a reason for that in the manga):

 

Wrath

Pride

Greed (My favorite homonculus in the manga)

Envy (I always hated Envy...)

Gluttony (he comes in later, or at least his influence, but I can't tell you more than that without you seeing the show. ^^; )

Sloth

Lust (My favorite homonculus from the 2003 series)

 

In the manga, Pride was the last homonculus we actually got to meet in all technicality...besides the big bad one that I can't say anything else about. ^^; It's one of those "Oh my gosh, is that true?!" kind of things. So sorry about the spoilers there.

 

You'll learn more about everything that went on later, but yeah.

 

Could it have anything to do with the fact that the person who would have created him, Fuhrer Bradley, is dead? Would that erase a hold of some sort?

 

I can't believe you haven't seen the series and you caught onto that. I will tell you one thing, though: Fuhrer Bradley did not create him. Actually, he was rather caught up in the rather extensive plot himself. However, the whole link to the person who did create him...yeah, that's a lot of my theory behind a WHOLE lot that happens later. ^^; I'm highly impressed and surprised that you caught that.

 

Sorry for all the spoilers, but yeah. ^^;

 

END SPOILERS!

Edited November 22, 2011 by Guest

[jedi_master_gimpy]

Lol! KIND-OF SPOILERS TO FOLLOW, so you might want to skip!

 

Haha, I'm usually a very good guesser just because I read so much. I can often guess at least part of what is going to happen in books and movies. I would say that you did a good job of giving just enough hints for me to be able to have a good guess, but not enough for me to be sure or know the specifics. I don't think it was due to the "bad" side of writing at all.

 

That said, do you want me to remove parts of my post? I'm never sure how much of my guesses to put down in case that happens!! I have added a spoiler alert message in there just in case.

 

Regarding the beta - I'm referring to Good Folk (which I haven't seen anything from you regarding in a while!).

 

Hmm, interesting about the various homonculi. I'll be watching for Lust to pop his head/influence in. At least there is still lots to guess - like who actually made Selim!

[Obi-quiet]

Oh...OH RIGHT! ^^; GF!

 

Nah, I don't mind your posts, mainly because people who have watched the show already will get it, and it's kind of important for the rest of the book.

 

Maybe I should post a link to the manga. Hmm...or at least where you can find the Anime. I think it's on Hulu...

 

Oh, and btw, Lust is a girl...and she's kind of dead. ^^; I could go over which homonculi have died and which ones haven't, but it would probably A. give too much away for those who want to read/watch the original and B. it gets kind of gray with some of them.

[Obi-quiet]

Note: In the first post I pasted links to the anime and the manga if you'd like to watch/read them. I highly recommend it. It's a very well done story.

 

Onto the next chapter! Thank you all for your support!

 

xXx

 

Major General Roy Mustang was not having a good day...again.

 

"Are you telling me that one of the most potentially dangerous people on the planet has vanished?" the dark-haired man asked, straining (fairly unsuccessfully) not to raise his voice.

 

Lt. Hawkeye stood there as calmly as if he'd asked her about the weather. "Yes, sir," she said in a tranquil voice that perfectly matched her stance.

 

Roy ran a hand through his graying hair.

 

"It seems whoever hit the bodyguards did a professional job," she continued, placing the file on his desk. With a hand that most certainly was not shaking, he reached over and opened the folder. His experienced eyes scanned over the page.

 

"One of the bodyguards survived," he said aloud. "How long until he wakes up?"

 

Hawkeye shook her head. "We don't know sir."

 

"How do we know it wasn't...him?" his dark eyes glanced up at her, sharp despite the slightly milky tint.

 

"The angle is inconsistent. We found the point where the sniper hit from, a local building rooftop."

 

He stopped, blinking up at her. "Good?" he asked.

 

She nodded grimly. "Very, Sir. If the bodyguard hadn’t been wearing a vest, he would not have survived."

 

"Nothing left?" She shook her head. He swore, sitting back in his hair and putting his folded hands in front of his mouth as he stared into empty space, thinking.

 

After several silent moments, he spoke up quietly. "It's Clemin." She didn't respond visibly, but he could tell she agreed. "He's been busy," he continued. It seemed as if all of Central had reached an unspoken consensus that the ex-general had become the new leader of the FFO. Them obtaining decent leadership after he disappeared was too much of a coincidence otherwise. Now if Roy could just uncover their sponsor...their rather elusive sponsor sho obviously had experience in hiding their money trail.

 

Finally, Roy sighed. "Send out a 'missing' report to every field agent and outpost you can, military or otherwise. Post a usual reward. We can raise it later if necessary."

 

Riza nodded, but paused. "What should put on it?"

 

Roy stood up, placing the folder in his desk drawer as he did so. "Only that 'Selim Baker' is missing. The fewer people that know the better."

 

She bowed, blond bangs swinging attractively before her eyes as she stood back up. "Yes, sir."

Ignoring his unhappy smile, she turned on her heel and walked out the door.

 

Roy watched the door for a moment, a sad, almost longing look on his face before the expressionless mask snapped back into place and he followed. It would be his job to report to the Fuhrer. He just hoped she was in a good mood...

 

xXx

 

Weakling, a voice hissed at him in the darkness that had just a touch of red to it. Selim flinched away from the words. Pathetic...just like them...not worthy...

 

With some effort, he ignored the voice, instead focusing on the relative darkness that for once he found comfort in. Normally, he hated darkness with a passion. Of course he would never admit even to his mother now much it scared him still. Now though, he welcomed it. It seemed to bring a sort of hazy comfort and peace that he didn't often obtain. That is why he found himself disappointed when it began to slip away.

 

The first thing he noticed was the warmth. The days had been becoming steadily cooler as the later, winter months approached. The last thing he remembered, he'd been outside. Apparently he wasn't anymore, as at the moment, he felt rather snug. Maybe even a bit too warm. He wouldn't complain as he'd always preferred higher temperatures. It actually felt rather nice...except for it being a little stuffy.

 

He also felt material over his head, but he didn't seem to be in his bed. Far too many lumps. He was about to throw all of that to the wind and try to go back to sleep when a sudden jolt brought him fully awake. He was moving...and tied up. Heavy ropes bound his wrists, and he could hear noises of air rushing by and metal moving against metal. A train then.

 

That's when it all came rushing back. That's also when he realized that whoever had grabbed him had stuffed him into a sack.

 

An extremely small sack.

 

A little light came through, so he wasn't completely in the dark, but that only barely took the edge off of the sudden fear that shot through him. His breathing sped up and he felt his heartbeat begin to race too.

 

A sudden noise like someone sliding a door open caused him to freeze in panic. “I still don't see why you had to kill the bodyguards.” an annoyed, female voice said heatedly. “Probably scarred the kid for life!”

 

“No witnesses,” a second, cold tenor voice responded.

 

“You tried to kill him too,” the first accused. Selim gulped. This wasn't doing anything to help calm him down.

 

“The concession was 'dead or alive',” the second voice said.

 

A loud clang resounded above the rumbling din of the train and the woman swore. “I'm okay with kidnapping if it means taking out a threat. I never signed up to be an assassin.”

 

“Killing him would have 'taken out' the threat too,” the second voice pointed out. His emotionless tone sent shivers up Selim's spine. All in all, staying still was becoming more and more difficult by the moment, but he didn't want them knowing he'd woken up. What if they killed him then? Who were they? Why were they here? Who had hired them to kidnap him and why? He wasn't anybody!

 

Except the possible son of an artificial being... The thought ran through his traitorous mind and he had to fight back a wince.

 

“You're not killing him,” the first voice insisted. “Not while I'm around.”

 

A deep grunt from the area of the door voiced an agreement. A third person then?

 

“Why did you take this job to begin with?” the cold voice finally answered.

 

“We're bounty hunters. That's what we do,” the woman responded flatly. Then she added on, almost as if she were pouting, “I didn't think he'd be a kid.”

 

Then, without warning, Selim felt something on his head, and shrunk away with a yelp. That suddenly, the bag was gone. He couldn't help but feel grateful, despite the fact that a hand had entangled itself painfully in his hair and yanked his head back.

 

“It seems he's awake,” the second voice said from somewhere above him. Through the cracks in the box car that surrounded them, enough light shone in for Selim to see the man that voice belonged to. He had dark hair that seemed to have auburn highlights, although that could have just been the poor light. The uncombed mess had been stuffed haphazardly under a narrow-rimmed hat. Beneath that, a sharp, dark business suit clad a smallish frame, but Selim could tell that said frame had a good deal of muscle behind it. And the way he moved belied a good deal of some sort of training. His pale skin made him stand out despite the dim lighting, making him appear almost ghostly.

 

Selim also caught a whiff of iron. The man was packing heat, and Selim had no doubt he would use it at the slightest provocation. He gulped, and his eyes shot to the other two.

 

The woman looked to be in her late twenties. She wore a low-cut sweater, a dark, form-fitting skirt that almost reached her knees and had snow boots. She also had gloves, and her light, almost-white hair had been twisted up into a loose knot on her head. She also wore sunglasses and gloves, but Selim could still tell she was concerned, and unhappy with the situation in general.

 

The second man seemed to be much older. In the prime of his life, he must have been a body builder or professional fighter of some sort, because Selim caught a residue of strength around the man's aura. A lot of that muscle had been let go to flab though, and he moved in a slow, careful way that only came with age and a good deal of experience. He also had light hair, although his seemed to be a mixture of gray and blond. He wore a heavy, buttoned jacket over wrinkled slacks and watched Selim over the collar of said jacket with sharp, gray eyes. This man was not someone to take lightly. None of them were.

 

“W-what's going on?” Selim asked, hating how shaky his voice came out.

 

The woman walked over and reached down towards Selim, who flinched away. Then, to his surprise, she grabbed the first man's wrist.

 

“Let him go,” she said dangerously. The man returned the look with a completely unfazed gaze of his own. Selim knew that look, although he couldn't remember from where. It said that this woman only remained alive until he had no more use for her. What scared Selim though, was the fact that he held no remorse or anger. His eyes stated that like it was just a simple fact.

 

Of the three of them, this man was the most dangerous.

 

After a moment, he let go of Selim's hair and stood up as if it had been his idea to begin with. Brushing non-existent dirt from his coat, he turned and walked back out of the door.

 

After that, the woman bent down with an apologetic smile. “I'm sorry about that,” she said. “I think someone shoved a stick so far up his backside that he wouldn't be able to remove it with surgery. It's the only explanation I can find, in any case.” She shot a rueful look at the doorway where the older man was looking after the younger one who had turned out of Selim's sight, presumably to leave them be.

 

Selim couldn't help the small smile at her joke, but the overall fear and confusion drove it away almost as quickly as it appeared. None the less, he refused to just give in and be a blubbering little ball of nothing.

 

“Who are you?” he asked, straightening his back and lifting his chin. “And what do you want with me?”

 

The woman's own smile vanished and she stood up. “It's nothing personal, kid. We were sent to take out a threat named Selim Bradley. According to the job description, you were supposed to be some sort of monster or demon.”

 

Selim felt a shot of anger rush through him. “Clemin,” he growled.

 

The woman raised an eyebrow. “Who?” she asked.

 

Selim turned his glare on her. For a moment she looked startled, and then slightly afraid. Standing up, she backed away warily. “Ex-Brigadier General Clemin,” he hissed. “Is he the one who hired you?”

 

She blinked, looking unsurely back at the old man. Selim followed her gaze and was surprised to see a gun in his hand. He gasped softly and glanced between the two of them. For a moment, the woman had made him think he could trust them, but he'd forgotten himself. These two had probably been the ones to actually capture him to begin with.

 

The man sent her a nod of assurance and she returned it silently. Selim watched the exchange closely. These two seemed familiar with each other, and both of them were apparently at odds with the third memory of their group. He could use that...maybe.

 

“The FFO hired us,” she responded slowly.

 

Selim's eyes opened wide. “The FFO? That terrorist group? What would they want with me?”

 

The woman shook her head. “They're a rebellion, not a terrorist group. Besides, it's not a smart idea to try and figure out what is going to happen to your targets. Like I said, nothing personal.” Any warmth that had been in her voice before was gone. The woman that stood before him was exactly what she claimed to be: a bounty hunter.

 

“So you're just going to take me away from my mother and my life just to throw me into some unknown situation run by people who think I'm nothing better than a monster or a threat. I'll give you two guesses as to what they'll do to me.”

 

He caught only the smallest hint of guilt from the woman as she turned to look away. “They're not a group like that,” she said softly, although she sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than everyone else. “At least, they didn't used to be.” Then her eyes hardened. “Anyway, it's none of our business. We're just out to live our lives. Sorry you got mixed up in it, kid.

 

“We're probably going to get there in a little over an hour, so you may want to prepare yourself. And don't try anything funny. Marlin here is going to be watching you for this last leg. He doesn't miss much."

 

Selim eyed the graying man and didn't doubt it.

 

With that said, the woman turned on her heel and walked out, shooting a look at Marlin and nodding again before she left him alone.

 

Sighing, Selim leaned back against the wall of the box car and tried to get comfortable. Thankfully, they hadn't shoved his head back in the sack. Now that he looked around, he could see crates of all sorts stacked at the edges. He could also see quite a bit of baggage. A passenger train then. So they'd had to smuggle him into the train. Dragging a drugged, tied-up kid onto a train (even if he had been in a sack at the time) would undoubtedly raise more than a few questions. He could use that too...but only if he waited for the right moment.

 

His eyes slid back to the man at the door. He'd lowered his gun, but hadn't put it away. He hadn't taken a seat either, and looked as if he weren't exactly inclined to talk. That suited Selim just fine. He didn't particularly want to have a heart-to-heart himself.

 

Unfortunately, patience wasn't exactly one of his strong suits. Slowly he began to work at the ropes on his wrists. He had one hour to work himself free, may as well start in the easiest place. If worse came to worst, he could think of something a little more drastic later.

 

His stomach grumbled loudly, but he ignored it and continued to work at his hands as the minutes passed by.

 

“You won't be able to untie that,” Marlin said suddenly, his low voice easily carrying over the train noise. “If you're smart, you'll just relax in for the ride.”

 

Selim narrowed his eyes at the man. “Pardon me,” he said with more than a little sarcasm. “I'll be sure to sit here calmly and obediently so you can hand me over to people who want me dead.”

 

The man didn't look impressed, staring at Selim flatly. Then he cocked his head. “What did you do to tick them off?”

 

“Who?”

 

“The FFO,” Marlin responded.

 

“I have no clue,” Selim muttered, slouching back against the wall of the box car again. “My mother used to work for Fuhrer Bradley and is distantly related to his wife. That's about the only real connection to anything I can think of...unless they know who my real father is.”

 

Marlin raised an eyebrow. “Who?”

 

Selim sunk even lower against the wall. “I don't know. I was adopted and no one wants to tell me anything.” He did not like the way the man looked at him after that. He'd just connected something, Selim could tell. Probably how much he looked like Selim Bradley. Not for the first time, he cursed his resemblance to the dead boy.

 

“How old are you?” Marlin asked. He wasn't looking at Selim, who blinked in surprise. That didn't seem like something the man would simply ask.

 

“Fifteen,” Selim responded. “I have a birth certificate if you want to look it up.”

 

“Hmm,” the man grunted in response.

 

They sat in silence for a while while Selim tried not to fidget too much. It took him a few minutes to realize that silence didn't work in his favor. He needed some sort of distraction to take the man's attention off of Selim trying to free himself.

 

“What about you?” he asked in a conversational tone. “How did you end up as a bounty hunter?”

 

The strained atmosphere suddenly went frigid, and Selim realized it had nothing to do with the weather. Right. Taboo then.

 

He searched his mind for something else, and came up with a random question. “Are you an alchemist?”

 

“Shut up, kid.”

 

Selim scowled, throwing that idea to the wind, and went back to working on his wrists. He could feel the skin coming off as he moved them around, but he had almost slipped his wrist out when a sudden noise from the outside caused both pairs of eyes to shoot to the door.

 

After a few moments it slid open and a girl rushed in, directly into Marlin's gun point. Realizing what happened, she squeaked and backed away a step, hands held up. She had dark, curly hair that came down only just past her ears and large, hazel eyes. A large, tan coat that had obviously seen better days almost drowned her small frame. She didn't look to be older than about sixteen or seventeen.

 

“Who are you?” Marlin growled.

 

The girl didn't take her eyes off of him. “M-mandy Parkins,” she managed to get out.

 

“Why are you here?” He growled, moving the hand with the gun to draw attention to it threateningly.

 

She suddenly looked contrite. “I...was hiding.”

 

“From who?” The woman looked away. Even in the dark, Selim could see a blush rise on her freckled face. Marlin caught on quickly. “Stow away, huh?”

 

“I had to get transport!” she blurted. “There's supposed to be a job for alchemists in Parlim county. I need the money!”

 

Selim blinked in surprise. She was an alchemist? She certainly didn't look like any alchemist he'd ever seen or heard about.

 

Marlin sighed, finally lowering his gun. “I won't turn ya in, but hide somewhere else.”

 

With an 'eep', the girl nodded and bolted out the door. Selim felt a ping of disappointment. She hadn't so much as looked around. There was little chance she'd noticed him. Not that she'd be of much help anyways. And that's if she'd decided to go against the large, obviously competent man with the gun.

 

The old man watched her off down the hall for a moment before he walked back in and slid the door closed, muttering something about impulsive teenagers.

 

Selim sighed, and went back to working on his wrists in the silence.

 

Ten minutes later Selim reassessed his previous thought of almost having his hand free, but he refused to give up. This whole thing stunk of Clemin, and if he really was behind everything, Selim doubted he'd live very long past arriving at the station.

 

Unless the shadows decided to take on a mind of their own around him again...and even then.

 

Of course, if he'd ever needed supernatural protection, now would be a good time.

 

Ignoring the annoying idea that kept coming to mind about how he was being stupid, he concentrated on the shadows, willing them to move. There weren't a whole lot here as it was mostly dark with only a few hints of light peeking through cracks, but any light was enough to cast a shadow.

 

After several minutes of this, despite the chill of the air, he began to sweat, pouring all of his effort into getting the shadows to move.

 

Nothing happened.

 

He tried harder. Still nothing. That's when he noticed the train slowing down.

 

“No...” he whispered, suddenly feeling more determined than ever. It didn't help. Marlin stood up, tucked his gun away and reached down for Selim. In one motion, he'd both torn the cloth sack off of his captive and thrown the struggling teen over his shoulder. Then began to pick his way around the crates and boxes until he reached the side of the train. A large, sliding door had been placed there; easy access for the loaders. With a mighty heave, Marlin threw the door open, took a deep breath, and jumped out of the still rather quickly moving train.

 

“Are you crazy?!” Selim shrieked just before he became weightless. The strange feeling only lasted a moment before they rocketed towards the weed-covered dirt and landed hard. Amazingly enough, Marlin did not let him go once, and he took the brunt of the fall. Old or not, this man had to have bones of steel and muscles of iron.

 

For a moment, Selim wondered if the man had automail legs or something.

 

“Are you trying to get both of us killed?!” he yelled.

 

“We were never in any danger,” Marlin replied calmly.

 

Selim grit his teeth, not willing to believe the man for a second.

 

After a moment, Marlin stood calmly up and began walking through the brush. Trees and bushes scattered rather sparingly around them, and the air felt drier than Selim was used to. So somewhere towards the East by Selim's guess.

 

Behind them, Selim saw the train's caboose pass by and sighed.

 

He continued to work at his bonds, giving up on the shadow idea completely. His trek through the woods was, to say the least, unpleasant. He hung over the man's shoulder, hands and feet beginning to fall asleep while Marlin walked along at a surprisingly bouncy pace for an older man. Every step seemed to jar Selim's teeth, and drive the man's shoulder deeper into his stomach. He could only be thankful that it wasn't bony or particularly sharp.

 

They had been walking for several minutes when Selim caught the scent of someone from behind them. Surprised, he lifted his head (with some strain) and looked back as best he could. No one was visible, but the wind blew in their direction and he caught the smell again.

 

They were being followed.

 

But why? Why would Marlin's partner follow them? Or maybe it was the other man?

 

Before he could contemplate on it more, the ground around them sparked and started to glow.

 

“What the--” the man said, stepping back defensively.

 

Selim's eyes widened, realizing that the bright sparks had formed a perfect circle. Then, before their eyes, the ground quickly rose around them into a dome. Marlin growled and lunged at the rising wall far too late. Selim felt his heart clench in fear and panic. The shadows responded again--he could feel it somehow this time--but not quickly enough. In moments, they'd been shut completely in the dark.

 

For just a few moments they stood there in the blackness. Then Marlin let Selim drop unceremoniously to the ground. Then he apparently launched himself at the wall again because Selim heard something hitting the transmuted stone repeatedly. He didn't care.

 

He was trapped in the dark, in an enclosed space. Memories of helplessness and anger flashed through his mind, and a metal clinging sounding over and over again in a message. There wouldn't be anyone to get a message to this time, though. He was trapped.

 

“NO!” he yelled. “Let me out! Don't keep me here! No! No! NO!”

Edited February 24, 2012 by Guest

[jedi_master_gimpy]

Nice update, that was sure a lot of action! It was well placed and definitely interesting. Were the bounty hunters and Mandy part of the TV show as well? I'm not sure whether I should be keeping an eye out for your own original characters or not, but by the descriptions I'm guessing they come from the show. Mandy seems like an apt companion for Selim to keep that pride of his in check. And speaking of that, I thought you did a good job of pointing out those clues of pride here - not wanting to be seen as little, not wanting to be alone or insignificant, etc...

 

I'm interested in seeing how the rest of their escape goes! Btw, does Mandy need to have a drawing on a paper to do her alchemy, or was that only in certain cases to disguise her intent more? Both of the times we clearly saw her at work included the paper, but she was also trying to "sneak" it in. I don't know the series enough to know how it all works.

 

 

Anyhow, looking forward to more! Out of town for the holidays and trying to get a little caught up but it takes forever to type a long review on my phone!

[Obi-quiet]

Selim, his mother and the military people are all from the original. Mandy, the bounty hunters, Johan and his parents are all original characters of my own creation, so I really appreciate that, Gimpy. Glad you think they fit in well.

 

I hope that you find this chapter as good, but I doubt it. I had a few problems with it and I feel it's kind of stagnant, but it does do what I need it to, so yeah. ^^;

 

My beta reader's name is Daricio on FF.net.

 

CHAPTER 4

 

Selim really did not want to be where he was. The darkness seemed to close around him, and it took every ounce of will to keep breathing and running. The horrible stench had a good deal to do with that as well.

 

Mandy's explosion must have ruined the electric system, as they passed no lights for far too long, which made it difficult to run quickly. To make it worse, he almost felt like the darkness had a consciousness that whispered to him. It felt...weak, for some reason, like an echo, but that didn't stop him from wanting to duck away or hide from it. Problem was, he couldn't hide from something that completely surrounded him.

 

The moment they saw the lights leading to an off-shoot, he took it. Any light was better than none, but the whispering of the shadows seemed to only grow louder.

 

It took every ounce of self-control Selim had to not 'totally freak out' as Johan would say. He constantly tried to keep his friend in mind, remembering how the other boy could always calm him down. That, of course, brought his mother to mind, and her own gentle hand that would soothingly rock him after a nightmare of being trapped in the darkness when he was young. He'd always hated those nightmares in particular.

 

Mandy seemed to sense his distress, because she hadn't teased him once. Instead, she'd started up a random conversation.

 

"I thought you said you weren't an alchemist," she said.

 

"I'm not," Selim replied.

 

"Then what was that back there?" she asked. "Seemed pretty close to transmutation without a circle to me."

 

"Yeah. Something like that," Selim responded, not really wanting to get into that particular can of worms at the moment.

 

He could almost feel Mandy grin in the darkness. "Could you teach me how to transmute without a circle? Some of my favorite alchemists in history could do that! I know that Major General Roy Mustang can, although he doesn't like to."

 

"Uh, I don't know," Selim replied, trying to focus on continuing to breathe as he turned down a tunnel. Behind them, he could swear he heard faint footsteps and pushed himself to run faster, despite his protesting butt muscles and the fear that still gripped at his heart. Mandy eeped in surprise, but kept up.

 

Figuring she had a good idea””keeping his mind off of the situation by talking””he began to ask questions of his own.

 

"How did you know about these sewage tunnels?" He spared a glance at the thick water next to them and had to fight a gag. The smell continued to be horrific, especially to him.

 

"Read about this criminal," she replied, slightly winded. He wouldn't let her stop though, and she probably sensed this because she continued to talk anyway. "Kept getting away from the military," she paused, taking a deep breath, "because he would stop at the second stage of alchemy."

 

"Deconstruction?" Selim asked.

 

"Yeah," she replied after a moment. Selim turned down another tunnel, and noticed it was narrow enough to jump over to a walk way on the other side. Even though the dim lights at seemingly random intervals cast eerie shadows all over the walls, he blessed them. They wouldn't have been able to go nearly as fast without being able to see.

 

"Jump," he said, surprised at how calm he sounded. He almost seemed to be watching himself from a distance, like someone else had taken over partially. His mind felt calmer too, although a cold edge seemed to lace his thoughts.

 

"What?" she asked tensely. He didn't give her a chance to protest. Instead, he leapt over the canal. He heard her gasp sharply behind him before they landed, but she didn't lose her footing although that could be do to the fact that he still had ahold of her arm from when they'd been running through the darkness. Immediately, he turned down yet another side tunnel.

 

After a few moments, he looked back over his shoulder. "Anyway, the criminal?"

 

"How can you...keep up this...pace?" she gasped. He looked over his shoulder at her, contemplating. Then he slowed down to a walk, letting go of her arm. She put her hands on her knees, breathing heavily.

 

"I've always been a good athlete," he muttered. "My mom never wanted me to try out for the school teams, though. She wanted me to focus more on learning and schoolwork than things like sports."

 

"So you...don't constantly...work out?" she asked.

 

He shrugged. "Yeah, I do. I walk to and from school every day; make sure stay in shape at home. You know."

 

She shook her head. "That's incredible."

 

"Come on," he said, rubbing the hand that had held hers absently, as if to cleanse his skin of something disgusting as he looked around at the dimly lit tunnel. "We should keep going. Anyway, the criminal?"

 

"Right," she said, falling into step behind him. "So he would deconstruct everything they threw at him, and when they had him surrounded, he'd just break through the streets, walls, whatever happened to be in his way. I thought it was a good idea when I read about it."

 

Selim nodded, almost impressed (vaguely, he wondered why he wasn't more impressed; he should be, shouldn't he?). Most people wouldn't think to stop at decomposition. He most certainly hadn't.

 

"So how did you get it to stop? Incomplete circle?"

 

She nodded. "Sort of. The circle still has to be connected, obviously, but if you leave off most of the symbols and don't complete a few of the other shapes, it usually works really well."

 

"I can see that," he said. "I think you may have just saved my life back there...again." Was it just him or had he sounded almost begrudging? Of someone saving his life? Apparently she hadn't caught the tone because she snickered.

 

"Just double my reward and we'll call it even."

 

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Whatever."

 

xXx

 

"Look, there's a way out," Mandy said after almost an hour of wandering. Selim followed her line of sight and saw several rungs leading up to a covered manhole. For a moment, he wanted to thank every single deity out there. He'd never been particularly religious, but he felt so grateful at the moment, that he didn't care.

 

Rushing forward, he was at the top of the ladder before he even realized it.

 

"You really don't like the dark, do you," Mandy commented from somewhere below.

 

"Claustrophobia and achluophobia. Not a good combination. Had them ever since I can remember," he replied quickly, pushing up as hard as he could on the rough metal. As soon as the light touched him, he seemed to regain himself. It hadn't been much of a change, but he'd almost felt like a different person in the darkness. Moments later, he almost launched himself out of the manhole and onto the dirty pavement, breathing a sigh of relief at the sky and open air that greeted him. Mandy wasn't far behind him.

 

"Glad to leave that smell behind," she muttered, looking back down into the hole and brushing herself off. The street they'd come onto was basically deserted, with only a few stragglers closing up shops or getting in last minute shopping before all of the markets closed. "Achluophobia?"

 

He nodded, closing his eyes and concentrating on breathing in. For the first time since they'd entered the sewers, he felt like himself. "Fear of darkness."

 

"I've never seen anyone that afraid of the dark."

 

"I don't even know why," he muttered. "For years I've had these nightmares”¦horrible nightmares." He watched her for a second, but she didn't laugh or giggle. It was kind of strange to tell someone he'd only met less than a day before about some of his deepest fears. It also felt strange when she continued to look at him with a serious expression. He'd expected her to laugh and tease him.

 

Finally, she just shrugged. "Help me out here," she said and bent down to push the iron circle back into place. Nodding, he joined her and they scooted the heavy object back onto the hole an let it clank loudly back into place.

 

"Let's get out of here," she said. "Just in case they're still looking for us and heard that."

 

"Yeah," Selim responded with a nod of his head. They walked down the street in silence, both thankful that they'd been able to get out of that mess.

 

"We need to get out of the city," Selim said. "They'll be expecting us at the train station."

 

Mandy glanced over at him, looking impressed. "We should probably leave town by a road away from the train station."

 

"I'm sure there are few roads heading west or south," Selim replied. "We should probably pick up a map."

 

Mandy sighed. "No shower tonight, huh."

 

Seilm grimaced. He doubted she had his acute senses. It would be doubly worse for him. "Probably not."

 

"I mean, we could stay here in town”¦"

 

"I don't want to be anywhere near them," he responded poisonously.

 

"Right," she nodded with a sigh. "We should at least get some food and supplies before we go."

 

"Yeah."

 

They walked in silence for a few minutes, the last of the adrenalin in Selim's system finally wearing off, leaving him exhausted. What he wouldn't give to be home at the moment, in his bed, near his friends and family.

 

Then she spoke quietly, but it effectively broke the silence. "What were they saying about you being a monster?"

 

Selim swallowed. He'd known that one was coming. "I-I don't know. I think a former brigadier general knew my father and wants to kill me for it. He's convinced my father was a monster, so he simply concluded that I am, too."

 

"Oh? Who was your father?" she glanced over at him.

 

If he'd had the energy, he would have cringed. "I don't know that either. I'm adopted."

 

"Oh," she responded and they fell into silence again as the sun finally sank over the horizon. Unwittingly, his mind went back to all of the questions his research had left unanswered. He would have to ask his mother once he got back to town, he realized. That was what he'd been about to do when the bounty hunters had decided to spirit him ungracefully but effectively away.

 

He was not looking forward to it, as much as he did want to be back with her. If only he could find those answers on his own.

 

Then his mind suddenly flashed to the other possibilities. Clemin, of course, was out of the question, but what about the Elrics? After doing a little research he'd discovered that the authors of that book were indeed the Elric Brothers that had fought in the coup. He knew they were supposedly incredible alchemists and were also (at least in part) the reason the people of Central had made it through as unscathed as they had, but he knew little more than that.

 

Other than the fact that they were born and raised in Risembool, which was in the east, not too far from Optain City, and that they still lived there to this day”¦

 

"Hey, Mandy," he said slowly. It felt weird calling a girl by her first name. At school they were told to address women by 'Miss' and their last name. That would feel even stranger to him, though. "What would you say if I requested a detour?"

 

"Detour?"

 

"I...am looking for some answers, and I think that some people here may help."

 

She eyed him suspiciously. "Answers?"

 

"They're really top-notch alchemists, and probably the only ones who can answer the questions my research has uncovered," he replied.

 

Her suspicious expression didn't leave. "Who are they?"

 

"The Elric brothers."

 

For the second time that day, he felt a shot of pride in shocking her to an extreme. She just stared at him with an open mouth for several moments.

 

"The Elric brothers," she confirmed after finally finding her voice. He nodded. "As in the Elric brothers, the best alchemists this world has ever seen? Who saved this country during the coup 15 years ago?" Again, he nodded, satisfied smile firmly in place.

 

"That's not fair," she growled.

 

"What?" he asked, his smile fading.

 

"A little boy as adorable as you is not supposed be able to blackmail me after you just met me."

 

He found himself grinning again despite himself. "I take it that means 'yes'."

 

She grinned. "I'll follow you until you get home. How else will I get my reward, after all? But...if you happen to go the long way..."

 

He couldn't help but laugh as he walked down the street. Who would have thought that when she wasn't being an annoying pain in the butt, Mandy Parkins was actually a decent person?

 

xXx

 

Selim didn't know how he managed to continue walking. After buying a map, some supplies and a back pack, they planned a route and walked out of town. It turned out there was a road straight to East City, which would take them almost directly toward their destination. From East City, they could catch a train directly to Risembool. At most it would be a three day journey there, and if they could catch a train ride back, a total of five days round trip. He could be back home within the week.

 

His excitement didn't last too long as the exhaustion of running all day (and he suspected the use of the shadows) on top of a rather poor, forced night's sleep caught up with him. Fortunately, they didn't run into many people and no one stopped them. The worst part was the cold, but it didn't feel as biting here as it did in Central.

 

Sometime just before dawn, Selim lost consciousness completely. He didn't even remember most of the last hour before he collapsed by the side of the road, curling up inside of his thick coat. The cold was still there, but he'd gone past caring.

 

This time the dream was different. It had the same feeling though. This time, he was himself: Selim Baker. And he faced himself. Literally. Across from him stood (floated? He couldn't really tell) his exact mirror in almost every way, except two. The boy had his face, but instead of Selim's big, brown eyes, his were a stark violet, almost purple, and he had no mark on his forehead. He also appeared to be about three years younger.

 

As they watched each other, Selim gulped. He had never seen an expression that cruel on any face, except maybe the dark-haired man from the other dreams. There was a slight difference there too. The dark haired man's expression had just been one of pure, cruel delight. The look on the other Selim's face seemed almost condescending, and highly disapproving. The idea that his features could hold such an expression frightened him far more deeply than darkness or enclosed spaces ever could.

 

"You're weak," the other Selim said in a multiple, many faceted voice. Around them, the vortex that he hadn't even noticed before reacted. A ripple of pain and fear ran through it. "Pathetic. You don't deserve to be..."

 

The other Selim's voice suddenly cut off as he began to fade away. The cruel look transfigured to something absolutely murderous and as Selim watched (he couldn't seem to bring himself to turn away), the other him began to yell and struggle. His efforts didn't do much to keep him from slowly vanishing none the less. After a few moments, he must have realized his efforts were in vain as he stopped and looked directly at Selim.

 

"I'm still here," he mouthed, and while no words reached Selim's ears, he did not lose the meaning.

 

"No!" Selim yelled. He wasn't sure why, but the very idea of that being existing both filled him with utter dread and an intense excitement. "Yes?" he amended cautiously. Was the other him still existing a good thing? He couldn't decide.

 

The other Selim vanished, but his arm stretched out just as he faded completely. Hesitantly, Selim reached forward to grab the hand, both grateful and disappointed when there was nothing there for his hand to touch.

 

Then the world around him began to fade too. He let it, suddenly feeling tired and resigned. When it swam into view again, he recognized his surroundings instantly.

 

"What?" he asked. It was Central, but not the Central he knew. People were running, hiding away from the military forces swarming through the streets. Something had was happening--something important...something...

 

But again, as he reached out to talk to a passing patrol of men, it all began to fade to black.

 

"Son?" Someone called out.

 

Selim turned around, looking frantically around the fading city. "Father?"

 

"Son?"

 

"Son?" Selim opened his eyes blearily, wincing away from the harsh sunlight that felt so warm on his back. Why was he lying on the ground? Rather harsh, lumpy ground with stiff, dead crab grass and weeds popping up around him, sticking into his cheeks and exposed legs where his pants had ridden up. Opening his eyes warily again, he tried to ignore the light, instead focusing on the blue sky above him, and then on an older man's face that obscured most of it. Couldn't he do Selim a favor and kneel on the other side to block the light?

 

"Huh?" Selim managed to ask as he reached a hand up to rub his eyes.

 

The old man looked relieved. "Oh good, yer alive."

 

"Wha?" his mouth didn't seem to want to work. "Who're you?" he slurred. Honestly, he sounded drunk.

 

"Granpa!" a high-pitched voice drew the two men's attention to two very young children standing near each other, fascinated with Mandy, who was struggling to sit up not too far away. She looked about as dead as Selim felt. "She's 'live too," the older of the two girls pointed out. Selim found himself smiling at her obvious statement.

 

"Well that's good," he called over to them. Then he turned his attention back to Selim. "Thought fer sure you two were dead, lyin' here on the side a' the road like that. Tha's dangerous, ya know?"

 

Ignoring his sore, aching body, Selim sat up, trying rubbing the sleep from his eyes without much success. "Yeah." he muttered.

 

"Why're you two out here?"

 

Selim looked up at the man. "We're in”¦a bit of a hurry," he finally said, deciding to err on the side of discretion. "We decided not to stop for the night before. Guess it caught up with us."

 

"Where're two young things like ya headed?"

 

"East City," Mandy croaked from off to the side. The two girls giggled and Selim glanced over again just in time to see her scowl and run a hand through her rather wild-looking hair. It stood out like a black cloud of frizz standing on end around her head.

 

"Callie, Bailey, come on over here," the older man said. Still giggling, the two girls ran over to their grandfather.

 

He shot them a stern look before turning back to Selim. "So why're ya headin' ta East City on foot?"

 

"Don't have enough money for the train," Mandy muttered, standing up and brushing herself off. The gesture didn't help with the wrinkles in her long jacket, the shorts or the fairly worn-looking t-shirt she sported. "Wanted to get there," her sentence was broken by a rather large yawn before she finished and she raised her not busy hand to cover it, "as soon as possible."

 

The man glanced between them again. "What's gotcha youngsters in such a hurry?"

 

Mandy and Selim exchanged glances. "I...have to meet my mother," Selim finally said with what he hoped was a disarming smile. It was the truth after all, just not the full truth.

 

"An' she's in East City?"

 

"Well, we're actually heading down to Risembool," Mandy cut in. Selim almost scowled at her.

 

The old man looked between them, not noticing how his granddaughters followed his movements. From Mandy's expression, she found it incredibly adorable. Selim had to admit to himself, it was kind of cute...in a girly kind of way.

 

"And you plan on walkin' there too?" the man asked after a moment.

 

Again, Selim and Mandy glanced at each other before turning back and nodding in unison.

 

It was fairly obvious the man knew they were hiding something, but he didn't call them on it. "Right then," he said. "Why don't you two hop on in back?"

 

He gestured to something behind them. Turning around, they saw a pair of older horses hooked up to a fairly unstable looking, uncovered wagon. Selim eyed it warily. Mandy, on the other hand, couldn't seem happier.

 

"You're offering us a free ride?" she asked. "Thank you so””"

 

The man held up a hand cutting her off. "Never said anythin' 'bout free. You two help unload the cart when we get there, and we'll call it even. You'll get a ride, and I'll get to rest my back. We both win." With that he grinned and stuck his hand out at Selim, who blinked at the appendage. Then, with a smile, he took it and shook it vigorously.

 

"It's a deal, Mr...?"

 

"Corrins," the old man grinned at them, stretching so more than a few obviously well-cared for silver teeth could be seen. Selim wondered at that for a moment, and for the first time really took a good look at the man. He seemed to have a mildly scarred face hidden by his light gray, neatly-trimmed beard. He wore overalls over a plaid shirt, and had a rather ratty-looking straw hat. All in all, he looked like a typical farmer, but something about the ensemble bothered Selim. He couldn't place his finger on what.

 

While he was busy scrutinizing their new host of sorts, the man gestured down to the little girls. "This is Callie," he pointed to the older girl who had short, brown hair and wore a very large shirt over shorts and two dusty socks that matched equally dusty sneakers. "And this is Bailey," he pointed to the younger girl, who had her light, slightly longer hair pulled up into pig-tails on the top of her head.

 

"Girls," the man said gently to the two, "say hi to..."

 

"Selim," Selim said with a smile, squatting down in front of the girls. Shyly, they hid back behind their grandfather's legs.

 

"And I'm Mandy," the girl said walking forward and holding out her hand for the older man, who shook it vigorously.

 

"It will be a pleasure to have such a pretty girl along," the man said with a twinkle in his eye.

 

Mandy giggled good naturedly. Then made a show of looking up and down the road. "Are you heading all the way to East City?" she asked.

 

The man shook his head. "I have a farm just outside of the City." He began to lead the group back to the large wagon.

 

"You came all the way here for supplies?" Mandy asked. "Why didn't you just pick them up at East City? Why come all the way to New Optain?" She smiled as the girls struggled to keep up with the adults in the tall grass. Selim noticed that all three of them had slowed down just a tad.

 

"Well, it has to do with their father," Mr. Corrins said. Was it just Selim, or did he sense the slightest tension in the old man's words? "He's enlisted in the Army, and doesn't often get a chance to visit. We came to spend a few days with him, and I decided to pick up the supplies before we went back home."

 

"I see," Mandy said. From her tone of voice, she'd also caught the hints the man had eluded to. There was some history there, but like Selim, had concluded that it was none of their business.

 

"Besides," the man turned his glinting grin on them. "The prices tend to be better here, closer to Central."

 

Selim tried not to flinch. He really was going awfully far out of his way to get these answers. He hoped his mother would understand.

 

Once they got to the large, wooden wagon, Selim began to realize just how dilapidated it really was. It seemed to be a miracle the thing was holding together at all. Their parents couldn't be a high-ranking officers if his family was riding around in this. Selim suspected that the two girls' grandfather had enlisted in the army to pay for what they couldn't work for on the farm anymore. He wondered briefly where their mother was, but decided not to ask. It really wasn't his place.

 

As Mr. Corrins hefted himself onto the front seat with some effort, Selim helped Mandy lift the girls into the back. Several barrels and more than a few sacks had been stacked against the much taller front seat, and the girls quickly took a seat down beside (or in Bailey's case, on top) of them. Mandy and Selim managed to get in just as the older man called back to hang on, and they started off with a lurch. Selim stumbled, and cursed as he felt several sharp points in his fingers. Slivers. Fabulous. And he'd have to wait for a break or for them to stop to even try and get them out.

 

He looked anyway. Surprisingly, he was able to get out several just gently brushing his other hand along the fingers gently in the direction that would pull the small pieces of wood out of his skin. By the time he was done, he only had two or three of them left. Deciding not to push his luck, Selim looked around, and saw that the girls had produced a charcoal or chalk piece from somewhere and were proceeding to decorate the old wood. Mandy was watching them thoughtfully.

 

Turning to the front, Selim hefted himself onto the seat besides Mr. Corrins.

 

"Hey," he said loudly, trying to be heard over the rattling of the wagon and clopping of the horse's hooves. "I wanted to say thanks again for waking us up and letting us come along."

 

"Well," the man grinned, but never took his eyes off of the road in front of them, "I have to admit, my intentions weren't wholly innocent."

 

Selim couldn't' help but stiffen just a little. "What do you mean?"

 

"Well, we were lucky enough to get here all safe," Mr. Corrins explained. "But there's been talk of robberies. The more people we have, the less likely we are to get robbed."

 

"Oh," Selim relaxed. It was a fairly sound strategy, if one conceded that the two strangers weren't somehow part of the group that would ambush them later. He felt rather silly for the thought, and turned his attention back to the man beside him, studying him. It was something about the way the he moved. Nothing too obvious, but something told Selim this old man wouldn't just give up a fight and that he had his share of experience in fighting.

 

"Well, if something happens," Selim assured him, "We'll definitely help."

 

Mr. Corrins shot a look at Selim, a thankful smile on his lips. "Thank yeh, Selim."

 

"So, what about you, have you ever been in the military?" he asked, leaning forward and resting his hands on his knees as the man was. His back hurt, and sitting up straight on that jittery ride didn't appeal to him at all.

 

"Where didja get that ideer?" Mr. Corrins asked, glancing out of the side of his eye with a raised eyebrow. Selim took that as a 'yes, how did you know?'

 

He shrugged. "You've been trained before, I can tell."

 

"You 'round soldiers much?" Mr. Corrins sounded both wary and impressed.

 

"Yes. I go to a school where most of the students are born to the elite soldiers or the very wealthy. In Central, that's usually synonymous." He shook his head.

 

"Yer parents soldiers?" Selim raised one of his own eyebrows at the man, not missing how he'd expertly steered away from the original topic.

 

"My mother used to work for Fuhrer Bradley."

 

That got a surprised reaction from the man. "No kiddin'?"

 

"And she's related to Madam Bradley."

 

"Well, that explains a lot."

 

Selim felt a slight frown come to his face. "Why do you say that?"

 

"How else wouldja know I'd been in the army? Fought in the Ishbalan war an' fer East City in the coup just 'afore I retired." A sad, wistful tone had crept into the man's voice and Selim felt his heart go out to the man. War wasn't pretty.

 

Selim blinked, sitting up for a few moments and ignoring his protesting back. Where did that thought come from? He wondered. It wasn't the idea in general, but the expression behind it...like he'd experienced it. But that was ridiculous. Of course he hadn't fought in any war. He couldn't have. There hadn't been any serious wars declared since his birth year. He was way too young...

 

But somehow, everything about that general idea felt...off.

 

"That you lived is a testament to your skill, your ingenuity or both," Selim muttered, forcing his mind away from that rather disturbing line of thought.

 

"Eh," the man dismissed that with a wave of one of his hands as he dropped that side of the reins for just a moment before reaching down to pick it up again. "A testament to m' luck is what it is."

 

Selim scoffed. "I wish I had that kind of luck."

 

Mr. Corrins didn't say anything for a while, but just as Selim turned to slide back down beside the others a few minutes later, he finally said something so quietly that the teenager almost missed it. "I hope yeh never get ta find out if yeh do."

 

A mirthless smile found its way onto Selim's face. "You and me both," he muttered, slipping down into the back. The younger girls seemed to be entertaining themselves in one corner with some cloth dolls. Meanwhile, Mandy seemed to have confiscated the chalk and was drawing something on her own that Selim couldn't see.

 

With a grin promising retribution, he approached her. "And you accuse me of being young? While you draw in chalk on wagons?"

 

She glanced up at him, annoyed before turning back to the drawing in front of her. "I'm wondering which circle I could use to fix the wagon," she whispered harshly.

 

Selim's face slackened in surprise and he leaned over to see what she'd come up with so far. "Why?" he asked, tone matching hers as he took a seat on a nearby sack of grain, still studying the circle.

 

"To repay them for helping us," she said with a shrug. "Equivalent exchange."

 

He nodded, conceding the point, ignoring the slight de ja vous at the expression. Those words and the way she'd spoken them just sounded awfully familiar, but he couldn't place where. "You really like your four-point circles, don't you," he said, not taking his eyes off of her drawing.

 

She shrugged. "They're stable."

 

Selim nodded. Four point circles were often used with an earth element as it was considered both stable and powerful but it was difficult to do anything intricate with them. Problem was, with five or more points, the interactions started to get difficult to control. Six points bordered on extremely unstable and he didn't even want to know what anyone would do with a seven point circle. Most complex alchemic accomplishments and concepts could be achieved with a five point circle. Six or more and they became quite literally explosive. It was like combining two separate circles with two separate energies together. The resulting explosion could take out...well, quite a lot according to the books Selim had read.

 

That technique also seemed familiar to him. He'd heard of it, or seen it used somewhere, he thought, but couldn't remember where. Something about having one circle engraved onto each palm?

 

Shaking the thought from his head, he focused more on the circle she'd been working on. "Why did you use the Bickette symbol here? It's just a simple fix-job," he asked, pointing to one spot on the splintering plank. The symbol was known for adding power to intricate spells without disrupting the energy flow that many other symbols did. It wasn't known for stability but flexibility.

 

"I was going for the whole cart in one circle. I could take a more simplified circle to the different sections, the axles, the wheels, and the attachments and such, but it would be much more effective, efficient and much faster to do it all in one go."

 

"That's rather advanced alchemy," Selim said skeptically.

 

"I know," she muttered. "I'm working on complex problems right now. I'd like to try it and then fix anything that's wrong afterwards."

 

"Why not use a five point circle?"

 

She paused, but didn't look up. Then she shrugged. "This isn't going to be that difficult. I'm sure I can do it with this."

 

Selim couldn't help but be impressed. "How long have you been studying Alchemy?"

 

She shrugged again, suddenly seeming evasive. "A few years. Since before secondary-school."

 

Selim continued to study the circle. Then a thought (and an accompanying picture), occurred to him.

 

"May I?" he asked.

 

She studied him skeptically for a few moments before shrugging as if to say 'why not?' and handed the piece of chalk over. Selim knelt on the rough wood and began drawing in a third circle inside the other two, accompanied by a set of fairly obscure runes he must have come across while studying (why else would he know them, although he couldn't remember exactly what book he'd gotten it from). Once he'd finished, he sat back for her to inspect.

 

"I've never seen those runes before," she said. "And what's the third circle for?"

 

"Efficiency," Selim said with a smile. "The third, uninterrupted circle ensures a continuation of the energy flow, while these runes will make it so that as little energy as possible is lost. With this circle, you can get the maximum result with the least effort. It requires a little more thought as to where you put your energies in, so I would recommend putting your thumbs here...and here," he said, pointing out the areas. "And your fingers spreading out from here and here," he said, pointing to two other areas. "It's a stretch and requires a little more concentration, but added to stable circles such as this, it should help out a lot."

 

Her eyes had continued to grow larger as his explanation went on, and when he finally got to the end, she could only gape at him.

 

"You should show me," she said, sounding a little awed.

 

He frowned at her. "I told you, I'm not an alchemist."

 

"But...the walls and floor, in the sewer..." she said, sounding almost pleading, and had more than a little whine in her voice.

 

"I don't even know how I did that," he responded. "It just happens sometimes."

 

She blinked. "Natural alchemic talent? But it's a skill. How can you activate alchemy and control it so well without knowing?"

 

"I don't know what it is," Selim snapped. "But it' is not alchemy, and I don't know how to control it."

 

"Oh," she said, not bothering to hide her disappointment.

 

Selim tried not to feel guilty, he really did...without any success at all.

 

"I'm sorry I snapped," he said finally. "That...ability is one of the reasons I want to get some answers."

 

She regarded him for a moment, then shrugged as if it weren't anything. "What do you mean, you can't control it?"

 

Sighing, Selim sat back, elbows resting on the wobbly side board behind him. "It just seems to react only when I'm particularly upset, worried or scared."

 

"Oh," she said again. Selim shot her an annoyed look. He could tell she didn't really believe him yet and that it still had something to do with alchemy. It couldn't be that though. Selim had never been able to perform alchemy, and he'd tried more than once. He just didn't have a talent for that particular science. Besides, those shadows never glowed like Alchemy did. And they felt far less whole than what he'd imagined Alchemy felt like. Like they were trying to make up for something he should otherwise have.

 

"Whatcha doin?" a small voice drew them both away from their conversation and the looked over to see Callie and Bailey standing there (surprisingly easily with the jostling of the wagon).

 

"We're drawing this," Mandy said with a smile, sitting back to show the girls.

 

Both pairs of matching gray eyes widened. "That's magic!"

 

"No it's not," the dark-haired woman said with a frown. "It's science."

 

"It goes all glowy!" Callie insisted. "Mommy used to show us."

 

"Mommy?" Selim asked at the same time that Mandy opened her mouth.

 

"Your mother was an alchemist?"

 

"Alright, time for a break!" The sudden voice of Mr. Corrins came back to them, just as the wagon rolled to a halt. Mandy and Selim braced themselves against the sudden stop, but the two younger girls couldn't and both pitched forward with a cry. Selim caught them easily before he shot a look back at Mr. Corrins. He'd already hopped down and was walking towards the horses.

 

Had he interrupted them on purpose? They'd just stopped off to the side of the road under a cluster of trees. There wasn't really a rest area or clearing more than anywhere else on the road. Selim watched the man suspiciously, but he didn't look back at them. Nor did he really act suspicious. To Selim, though, it seemed just a little too coincidental.

 

"He's good," Mandy muttered after seeing where his attention was. Selim nodded, a little surprised that the woman had caught on herself. There was something there that Mr. Corrins did not want them to discuss, and it had something to do with alchemy.

 

"Maybe we shouldn't attempt the transmutation," Selim responded.

 

Mandy nodded in agreement. "He must have overheard us talking," she whispered.

 

"Of course he did," the dark-haired boy muttered.

 

"Should we apologize?"

 

Selim frowned. It had been something he'd been practically drilled in since he could remember. If you did something that hurt or offended someone else, you swallowed your pride and apologized. But in this case, they hadn't been at fault. It wasn't like they had known.

 

"Why are you asking me?" he asked.

 

She shrugged. "Because I'm not good at apologizing."

 

Well, he appreciated her honesty, but he didn't answer. He'd gotten to a point where he could admit he was wrong, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Especially when he didn't mean to do anything offensive.

 

"We didn't do anything wrong," he said finally.

 

She nodded, then glanced over at the small group that had sat in a circle in the tall grass growing beneath the cluster of trees. "Then maybe we should tell him that."

 

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You mean, just inform him?"

 

"Exactly."

 

"I can live with that," he nodded thoughtfully.

 

"Good. You can do it." Before Selim could protest, she'd already spun away, bounding towards the small family.

 

Selim glowered, suddenly remembering why he tended to avoid people. Especially those of the female gender.

Edited February 29, 2012 by Guest

[Obi-quiet]

And here I thought I'd have some free time. *shakes head* Well, was finally able to get this next chapter done.

 

CHAPTER 5

 

The chance to speak with Mr. Corrins came sooner than expected. The air had warmed considerably, and to Selim, it hardly felt like the end of winter at all. The girls, tired because of the long ride, had lain down amongst a few of the sacks and were now sleeping peacefully under a make-shift canopy consisting of several barrels and Mandy's cream-colored trench coat stretched out between them. It tended to keep slipping, but as long as someone kept an eye on it, it didn't fall down and wake the girls.

 

“Hey Selim,” Mandy whispered from her seat on the sack beside him. “Now's a good time to tell him.”

 

“Good,” he nodded, not bothering to hide his annoyance. “Please, enjoy.”

 

“I thought you were doing it.”

 

He frowned. “You thought wrong.” If there was anything he really hated, it had to be people pushing their own thoughts and responsibilities onto him.

 

“But,” she started, working up a puppy-dog face that had no effect on her companion whatsoever.

 

Selim cut her off. “You're the one that wanted to talk to him, you talk to him. I'm not going to do it for you.”

 

She watched him for several seconds as he fanned himself off with a large, brown leaf he'd found on their last stop. It was quickly going very limp in the afternoon heat (despite the usually cold weather); as such he was considering trying to use it to cover the top of his head to protect himself from the sun as it had started to become rather useless as a fan.

 

Apparently seeing that he wouldn't be moved, Mandy sighed and stood up, picked her way over to the large front seat and climbed up top with only the slightest hesitation.

 

“Hey, I wanted to let you know that we didn't mean to be offensive earlier with the alchemy” and all that, I mean. And anything else,” she said, stumbling over her words for the first time since Selim had known her.

 

The old man let out a kind of ironic grunt that wasn't quite a chuckle. Over the noise of the cart and the horses clopping along, Selim was surprised he heard it. “So yeh noticed. Wondered why yeh hadn't tried to try it again since.” He looked over his shoulder at Selim before turning his eyes back to Mandy. “Wasn't offended. Just didn't want t' remind the girls o' their mother.”

 

“Oh, right,” Mandy nodded, still sounding awkward. Well she had been right. Apparently explanations and apologies really weren’t her thing. The thought amused Selim. “So she was an alchemist. Something happened then? I'm sorry.”

 

He sat up a little straighter, shifting on his seat as if uncomfortable. “Guess I owe ya a bit of an explanation,” he muttered.

 

“You don't have to,” Selim cut in hurriedly, glancing uncertainly at Mandy. Both of the people in the front seat turned to look back at him, acknowledging his presence in the conversation.

 

“It's alright. The girls'r asleep so I don' mind. Ya see, she was a state alchemist, one sent to negotiate with the FFO. 'Parently, somethin' went wrong. She never came back.” He sighed and slumped as if a weight had suddenly been set there. “Well, most of her didn't."

 

Mandy and Selim had both become very quiet. Selim looked away from the man, studying the rough grain of the old wood that made up the large cart that bounced beneath his feet. Mandy just stared straight ahead. Selim couldn’t see her expression.

 

“Tha' was a year ago. The girls still don' know,” Mr. Corrins continued, voice soft and only barely discernible above the clopping of the horse's hooves. “I know I can't keep it from 'em forever, but I haven’ found the guts to tell “˜em yet. Tha's why I 'void the subject.”

 

They rode in silence for several seconds before their host spoke again, far more quietly--as if to himself--but with a lot more anger and bitterness than they'd come to expect from the man. “Don't know who I should blame more: those rabble-rousers who play at making the world a better place or those monsters back in Central.”

 

Selim cringed at the latter, but couldn’t pinpoint why. After a moment's reflection, he figured it had to do with something Clemin had said. Maybe something to do with his father? Or Fuhrer Bradley? Could the older man even be referring to the current Fuhrer Armstrong?

 

“Monsters?” he asked slowly.

 

Mr. Corrins blinked and looked back at him as if only just realizing his two young companions still accompanied him. Then he sighed. “I c’n see why the FFO got pop’lar. I worked fer the government. Trust me when I say it doesn' keep the people in mind when it comes to their well bein’, if you get my meanin'.”

 

“Maybe that's changed,” Mandy said suddenly, sounding indignant. “It's not like it was when Fuhrer Bradley was alive.”

 

The man shrugged. “Maybe not. I haven' seen much of a change, and if they're tryin' to improve, they've got an awful lot ta make up fer.”

 

“So you support the FFO?” Selim asked, unable to keep out the disbelief of his voice.

 

“Not on yer life!” the man snapped. “They're goin' 'bout it wrong. Killin' ain't the answer. Never will be. As long as they're like that, they're just as bad as the people they're tryin' to overthrow.”

 

“So who do you support?” Mandy asked quietly, her tone just a bit hard. Selim raised an eyebrow. Just what had Mr. Corrins said to offend her?

 

The older man didn't respond for several minutes. Then he sighed and looked over his shoulder at the make-shift tent his granddaughters lay under. “I support them.”

 

After several more quiet moments, Mandy just nodded and slipped back down into the back near Selim.

 

“Well,” she whispered, voice thick with sarcasm. “That went well. Now do you see why it's not a good idea to let me be the one to apologize?”

 

Selim just rolled his eyes. He found himself doing that a lot around her.

 

xXx

 

A rather harsh jostle pulled Selim out of his light (thankfully dreamless) doze and he looked around. Mandy had fallen asleep earlier and Selim had followed shortly afterwards. The dark-haired girl lay off to the side, head resting on some wheat packed tightly behind a barrel, undoubtedly to keep the sun out of her eyes. She mumbled something in her sleep, but didn't wake up. Neither did the girls.

 

As he became slightly more cognizant, Selim realized that the sun had almost sunk below the horizon.

 

“Mr. Corrins?” he asked in a scratchy voice. The man didn't seem to hear him, but Selim didn't want to raise his voice and possibly disturb the sleeping girls. Groaning slightly at the various aches and kinks in his body, he forced his almost dead-weight limbs to move and hoisted himself up beside the man.

 

“What the...!” the man started to yelp until he saw Selim sitting there, staring up at him innocently, a little surprised at the outburst himself. “Oh son, don' scare me like that.”

 

“I didn't mean to,” Selim replied.

 

“I know, lad,” Mr. Corrins said, shaking his head. “I've lost my touch. Used to be no one could sneak up on the likes o' me.”

 

“Back when you were in the army?” Selim asked.

 

The gray-haired man didn't say anything for a long while. Finally, when he did, he sounded quiet and serious again. “I hope nothin' I said earlier offended ya.”

 

“You mean about the government?” Selim asked. Mr. Corrins nodded. “I don't see why it should offend me. You have a right to your opinion, don't you?” The man blinked as he looked at Selim, surprised at the statement. Selim continued. “That doesn't mean I agree with you. I do believe that the people running the government today are good people doing the best they can. They're human, and have faults like everyone else, but the laws I've seen passed under Fuhrer Armstrong's regime have been nothing if not drafted with the general populace in mind. I'm sorry if it hasn't reached you here yet, but I think it’s only fair to give them all a little leeway. Running a country cannot be easy.”

 

The man huffed, looking strangely silhouetted in the light of the setting sun. “Guess yer right there. Maybe I'm jus' an old man who's tired of bein' let down. Seen too much to not try n' find hidden motives.”

 

Selim shrugged. “I never said they didn't have hidden motives. Keep thinking like that, and you're likely to keep yourself—and your family—alive longer.”

 

“I still hate it.”

 

“That's the nice thing about human lives; you can. No matter what the law says, or what the government tries to make you think, you can still choose to think and believe what you want. You can choose to hate the whole situation, but it isn't always their fault.”

 

Mr. Corrins shook his head, yanking on one side of the reigns just slightly so the horses would follow the gentle curve in the rarely-used trail they'd turned onto. “How old are yeh?”

 

“Fifteen. Why?”

 

“Yer awfully smart n' mature fer yer age.”

 

Selim smiled, although there was a touch of sadness in that smile he could not explain. “Thank you.”

 

xXx

 

“Alright girls, we're home!” Mr. Corrins said as the cart wound to a stop. Selim went to help him undo the back of it so they could begin unloading.

 

“Granpa?” Callie asked, rubbing her eyes. “Home?” Beside her, Bailey nodded with a yawn.

 

“Yup. Let me help yeh go get ready fer bed.” The girls were still tired enough that they didn't argue, only nodding and stumbling towards the good sized farm house barely visible in the evening light. It had two stories, but otherwise looked rather plain. They'd pulled up and around the back of the house before Mr. Corrins had stopped the cart. He'd explained to Selim on the way up that the back entrance was closer to the kitchen and storage pantry. He'd also asked if Selim would mind unpacking while he tried to get the girls to go back to sleep. If he didn't, they'd probably be up all night and no one would get any rest.

 

“So,” Mandy yawned as she stretched and stood up. Her hair hadn't gotten any better than earlier. Actually, if anything, it had gotten worse; the very definition of frizzy. “We have to unload tonight?”

 

“Of course,” Selim responded, finally getting the tailgate unhooked. He winced when it almost fell off; swinging precariously down once the support ropes slackened.

 

“Can't wait until morning?”

 

Selim shook his head as he hopped into the back and grabbed the first sack he could. Heavy lifting had never been a particular problem for him, but his mother hadn't ever seemed to want him to do it; something about straining his back or what not. Frankly, he had no idea what she'd been talking about.

 

Lifting two sacks up onto his shoulders, he turned around only to see Mandy staring at him.

 

“What?” he asked.

 

“Those sacks have to weigh 25 pounds each. I know that's not much, but you swing them around like they weigh nothing.”

 

“I beg to differ,” he retorted. “They actually weigh quite a bit. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to do what I promised I would do.”

 

That seemed to snap Mandy out of her stupor. “Okay, cutie, just a sec.”

 

“Stop calling me that!” he growled at her. She ignored him, walked to the edge of the cart, and jumped into the packed dirt that surrounded the farmhouse.

 

“Hey what...?” He started, stepping forward.

 

“Stay there!” she said back to him with a wink and held up a paper with an alchemy circle. Then she dropped out of sight and the familiar blue glow lit the area around them. Curious, he ignored her warning and walked to the edge. Carefully, so as not to let the weight still on his shoulders topple him, he peeked over. Mandy grinned up at him, standing beside a ramp made of dirt that curled around towards the house.

 

“See?” she said.

 

Selim blinked for a few seconds. Then he smiled and nodded his approval. The ramp would make unloading much easier. “I didn't think an alchemist would use their alchemy for something so trivial.”

 

“It's not trivial,” she said, hiding a yawn. “We have to catch a train out of here tomorrow, just in case you didn't remember. We have to be on our guard, just in case our friends decide to show up which means we need rest. To do that, we have to get this done as quickly as possible. This just speeds us along.”

 

With that, she tucked her alchemy circle into her pocket and hopped onto the ramp, albeit rather sluggishly.

 

Selim nodded again as she walked past him. He wasn’t about to complain. Once she didn’t block the ramp, he rebalanced the bags and began the rather short descent.

 

xXx

 

It took them almost an hour to finish unloading the cart. When Mr. Corrins finally came back, he informed them that the girls were asleep, and that he'd laid out blankets for them in the living room. He'd also taken the liberty of getting them some sleep wear and let them know that they could wash their clothes in the morning. He also informed them--much to their dismay--that he did not have a shower, although he did have a working toilet.

 

He never commented on the dirt ramp.

 

As Selim and Mandy finished with the last barrels, Mr. Corrins handed them the lantern he’d been carrying and lead the horse and cart away with instructions for them to get to bed. They both agreed, gratefully.

 

The living room lay at the end of a short hallway, on the opposite side of the house than the kitchen. The blankets and pillows looked old and worn, but warm. The areas designated to them lay on each side of the old, worn coffee table situated between a small, fraying couch and a few mismatched but comfortable looking chairs. A bundle of clothing lay on top of each blanket.

 

Mandy and Selim exchanged glances before she leaned down and grabbed the closest pile before dashing to the bathroom and taking the lantern with her. Selim didn’t mind. With the bright moonlight shining through the window, he found he could still see quite easily. It only took him a few minutes to get changed and settled down.

 

No sooner had he relaxed against the pillow than thump indicated the door opening and closing. Selim turned his eyes to the room’s entrance as their host peeked in.

 

“Everythin’ okay?” he asked.

 

“Yes,” Selim responded honestly. “Thank you again for your hospitality.”

 

“It’s no problem,” the older man said with a grin, once again showing his strange assortment of teeth. “Jus’ make sure the lantern’s out ‘fore ya go ta sleep.” Selim nodded, and the man disappeared with a smile that didn’t quite hide his yawn.

 

Not a minute later, Mandy walked in, over-sized pajamas practically drowning her thin frame. Apparently she’d heard Mr. Corrin’s comment because she set the lantern on the table and put it out before climbing under her own blankets.

 

They lay there in the darkness for several minutes, and Selim couldn’t help his eyes being drawn to the window that framed the silver moon.

 

It reminded him of home.

 

“You okay, cutie?” Mandy's voice broke into his thoughts and he turned his head to glance over at her, only barely able to see her face on the other side of the table’s legs.

 

“I really wish you'd stop addressing me like that,” he said tiredly.

 

“We don't always get what we want, do we?” Her voice dripped with a fake innocence that only accentuated the fact that she would not stop any time soon.

 

“Goodnight,” Selim muttered darkly and turned onto his side, back facing her.

 

After a few moments, she spoke up again. “Seriously, I didn’t realize it was so dark when I left earlier. Are you going to be alright?”

 

Oh. So that’s what she meant. He didn’t respond for several minutes. Truthfully, he'd always wondered why most of the time darkness scared him to death, but he found the darkness of his room and the night comfortable. Perhaps it was because he associated it with sleep and rest?

 

“The dark doesn't bother me here because it's not completely dark, and I know I'm safe,” he finally answered, a little surprised at his own words. Yes, he supposed safety had a lot to do with it. As long as he had a way out, he could handle the dark. He didn't like it, but he could live with it. Same with enclosed spaces. He could handle them as long as they were well lit.

 

“So you trust me?” she asked, sounding unsure.

 

He shrugged. “Shouldn't I?”

 

“I'm just surprised that came so easily.”

 

“I'm your meal ticket,” he muttered dryly. “And you're not too stupid.”

 

“Hey!”

 

He smiled, knowing she couldn't see it. “You wouldn't endanger me like that, so yeah, guess I trust you.”

 

“Well, when you put it that way...” she muttered. Selim kept a snicker to himself. After a moment she spoke up, sounding a bit put out. “You know, sometimes you're not cute at all.”

 

“Good,” Selim said.

 

After a few minutes, he heard her whisper to herself. “That wasn't a compliment.”

 

Selim ignored her and turned on his side. It wasn’t long before he drifted off to sleep.

 

---

 

Sorry this took so long to get out, but I do have an explanation:

 

1. I'm a new aunt! My nephew was born on the 24th at 9:54 pm. He's a week early, and still weighed 10 lb 11 oz (wow!). Both mother and son are doing fine. Been kind of worried about my little sister (the mother) because she's been so miserable in the last few months, so take that into account.

 

2. Been saving the stories on my ff.net favs list to my computer incase SOPA, PIPA or ACTA pass (PLEASE GOOGLE THOSE AND SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP KEEP OUR INTERNET FREE! JEDI.NET WILL NOT SURVIVE IF ANY OF THOSE PASS!). I've had a lot of stories to go through. Actually, I'm still not through all my Danny Phantom, Star Wars or Naruto fics (those happen to be the biggest sections ^^; ).

 

Note: If you want to start saving stories to your computer, I recommend fanfictiondownloarder(dot)net(forward slash)download(dot)php and download the program. After that, all you have to do is open the first chapter, copy the address, put it into the program, check and download, and voila! (of course, you have to get a folder to store it in, but that shouldn't be a problem, just create one on your desktop). PLEASE PASS THIS MESSGAGE ON (about SOPA, PIPA and ACTA, although you can pass on the Fanfiction downloader as well)!

 

3. The end of this really bothered me and I needed to take a step back for a while. Thanks to Daricio for beta-reading this for me, and I was finally able to get the end of the chapter to where I could stand it.

Edited February 24, 2012 by Guest

[jedi_master_gimpy]

First off, congratulations on being an aunt! That's wonderful news! Does your sister live nearby, so you are able to visit her and the little one often?

 

Sorry, I've been super busy lately (still am), but decided to make a big effort to start catching up! Anywho, I like the two new chapters. The new family is interesting and is adding some depth to the political developments going on around Selim, tied directly to the FFO who's hunting him, and also giving some more clues to who he is (he certainly had a lot of vague memories and connections).

 

I'm still liking Mandy as a companion for Selim... not only does she make him lighten up but she also shows unexpected care when she realizes the depth of his fear of the dark.

 

My guess regarding his dream is that the full "Pride" identity (for lack of a better term) is still hiding within him and he is fully capable of returning to that and the power and destruction it would bring.... but also it seems to indicate that he may be able to decide a different personality and end for himself, as well.

[Obi-quiet]

GIMPY! *hug* Thanks! No, she doesn't live all that close. Four hour drive. But I have already gotten to see them and I should get to see them again in about a week.

 

Of course he has vague memories and visions. That's part of anime in general. ^^; I was trying to build up some of the politics in general with this, mainly because FMA is chalk full of it, but at the same time it's not a major part of the story yet, so I hope it wasn't too boring. ^^;

 

Mandy has taken on a personality all her own that was completely unprecedented by me. I knew the basics of what I wanted for Selim's companion (mainly because he needed one), but she...just kind of became the way she did. A lot of it is to counteract Selim's often down-to-earth, serious point of view. Problem was, Mandy had to be fairly down-to-earth herself. She knows how to take care of herself, and she knows what she's doing most of the time, although (as we find out later) she does tend to attract her share of trouble. ^^; I'm glad she's coming across strongly.

 

As for the last paragraph...I will refrain from commenting. ^^;

[Amidala Skywalker]

Gah! I thought I had been keeping up with this! I thought for sure I had read all the updates. And now I don't think I have!

 

I apologize! I'll try to get caught up today.

[jedi_master_gimpy]

Four hours isn't too bad! My niece is out of the country currently. Enjoy getting to see them again soon!

 

I'm glad you decided to pull the politics present in FMA into the story, it definitely adds a lot of depth.

 

I was posting in your HP vig and realized that there was one critique I had noticed here but forgot to mention:

 

Mr. Corrins' speaking style changed drastically - at first he sounded exactly like Mandy and Selim, and later he had a sudden case of rural accent. You probably want to go back and make sure he has a uniform speaking style.

 

Anywho, looking forward to more! But feel free to give it a few days ; I still have a gazillion of other fics to catch up on too. It seems like everyone was writing up a storm in January and February when I've been super busy!

[Obi-quiet]

LOL No worries, Amidala. I'm glad you came back to double check.

 

FYI, I finally got past my block on this story. I was stuck on chapter 9/10, but now I'm on chapter 13 (although I don't like how 12 ended for now so maybe not quite so far, but yeah). I'm thinking this story will end up being about 18-19 chapters...Depends on what's going to happen in between this major plot point I'm working on right now and the climax/finale.

 

Hmm, I was afraid of that Gimpy. I'll definitely take a look at it, but may not get around to fixing it for a while. Thanks again, as always.

[Obi-quiet]

Chapter 6

 

It took Selim and Mandy all too long to get started the next morning. First thing was bathing in the stream by the house. Selim had never washed in a stream before. In Central, they'd always had a nice shower and running water. The Corrins had a pipe that pumped water into the kitchen, one old-fashioned, working toilet, and that was about it. He'd been informed by a rather grouchy Mr. Corrins that morning that if he wanted to clean up, he would have to either use the stream, or fill the bathtub...one bucket at a time.

 

Needless to say, Selim had taken the stream. It was cold, and rather unpleasant, but otherwise tolerable. Selim was more than a little thankful that they'd gone quite a ways south, and down in elevation. If this had been up as far as Central, it might have given him frostbite.

 

He still wasn't sure the water hadn't as he rushed back to the house in his borrowed clothes. Mr. Corrins had already washed his uniform and left it on a line to dry and Selim couldn't be more grateful. He didn't exactly want to wander around in his school wear, but it was better than nothing. Besides, it was his.

 

Mandy had produced a change of clothes of her own that morning, now sporting some black pants and a short, long-sleeved sweater. Despite showing off her naval, she still wore that cream-colored overcoat. It all seemed rather useless to Seilm.

 

The major improvement in his mind was her hair. She'd taken a stream-bath before him, and had washed her curls. They now hung in hundreds of neat rings by the side of her head instead of standing up like she'd just gotten hit by lightning.

 

"Thank you for everything you've done," Mandy said enthusiastically as they stood outside the door and she shook the man's hand emphatically.

 

"No, thank yeh," he said with a grin then turned to the girls hiding behind his legs. Ever since they'd gotten up, the two had seemed to catch on a sudden shyness and hadn't gone near Selim or Mandy. "Come on girls, say goodbye," Mr. Corrins prompted.

 

"B-bye," Bailey said softly. Callie just shook her head and hid behind her grandfather's leg.

 

"Don't know what's gotten inteh them," Mr. Corrins muttered, scratching his head.

 

Seilm held up his hands. "It's fine. I promise."

 

"Alright, well yeh be safe now. And don' eat all the food I gave yeh at once."

 

"Yes sir," Mandy and Selim said at the same time. Each of them had a sack of food and supplies hung over their back. 'Payment' for their help, supposedly. As if letting them spend the night at his house hadn't been enough.

 

"It was a pleasure to meet you, sir," Selim said as they started off down the road, instructions firmly in mind.

 

"And yeh both! Don't keep yer mom waitin'!"

 

Selim's smile dimmed a bit. "I won't," he muttered softly.

 

xXx

 

East City felt a lot more like Central than New Optain did; dirtier, bigger, more confusing, it seemed like a typical city that Selim was used to...except warmer. And, due to several small rivers, lakes and ponds in the general vicinity, muggier. He didn't find it particularly unpleasant, but then again Selim had never considered Central to be unpleasant either.

 

As they approached the city in the back of another cart that had passed them by earlier (lead by two brothers who seemed to be annoyed that they had to take a cart instead of their parents car), Selim couldn't help but be reminded of home. That put a bit of a damper on his mood.

 

Not for the first time, he considered giving up the whole idea of visiting the Elrics and just heading for home.

 

Mandy, for her part, had taken up residence in the empty cart (in much better shape than the Corrins had been) on a bit of a shelf directly behind the young men and had been laughing and joking with them. Selim hadn't felt inclined to join, so he sat on the edge of the cart in back, letting his feet dangle over the side. Despite the fact that his disassociation had been by his own choice, he still managed to somehow feel left out. The fact that he never had been particularly social didn't help.

 

By the time they reached the city, he'd worked himself into a rather depressed and slightly angry state.

 

"So the station's in that direction?" he heard Mandy ask as the cart rolled to a stop, and looked back at the three in front. The two boys seemed rather taken with her, both trying to vie for her attention without seeming to. Selim thought it rather annoying.

 

"Yeah, that way," the lighter-haired, obviously younger brother said.

 

"About a mile and a half or so," the other one interjected.

 

"It's not that far," the younger one retorted.

 

"Yes it is," the older one responded.

 

"Well, we'll find it," Mandy interjected. "Thanks for the ride, boys. My brother and I appreciate it!"

 

Selim scowled as she walked to the back and jumped down to join him standing on the sidewalk.

 

"Yeah, later. Write us!" the older one said with a wave as they started off again for whatever supplies they needed.

 

As soon as they were out of ear shot, Selim shot Mandy an annoyed look.

 

"What?" she asked, noticing it.

 

"Brother?"

 

"Well we do have similar hair colors, and it's not something that would stand out as much if someone is following us." Selim sighed and shook his head, but he didn't say anything else. He hated to admit it, but she was right.

 

They started off towards the stations with Mandy in front, as happy and chipper as ever. Her mood only seemed to contrast with Selim's, which in turn only succeeding in making him feel even worse.

 

After several blocks, Mandy finally turned to him with her hands on her hips. "Someone got out on the wrong side of bed today," she said. "You gonna tell your big sister what's wrong?"

 

Selim shot her a scathing look and continued on in silence.

 

"Come on, Selim," she said, almost whining. Who's acting younger now? He thought bitterly, although he did note that she had actually said his name for once. "Won't you tell me, please? Maybe I can help?"

 

Selim shrugged noncommittally. "Doubt it."

 

"Won't know unless you tell me. Although," she snickered, "you're pretty cute when you sulk."

 

He didn't even bother glaring at her this time, and completely ignored the blush rising onto his cheeks. Maybe he should just ditch her and catch another cart to Risembool. Or a car. That would be nice. He'd had enough of carts and wagons to last a lifetime, not to mention enough slivers from both trips that he doubted he'd ever be able to get them all out.

 

"Come on," Mandy persisted, much like a stupid fly. "You can tell me."

 

"It's nothing," Selim snapped. "I just woke up stiff and sore this morning as I slept on the floor, after far too many days of inconsistent sleep and trying to get away from people who apparently want me dead for some stupidly perceived reason, had to take a freezing bath that I'm still recovering from and on top of that I have a companion who happens to be a chatterbox to everyone she meets and never shuts up."

 

Not to mention he had a rather nasty case of home sickness.

 

"Oh," Mandy replied softly. "Well, I guess I can help a little."

 

Miraculously, she shut up. In the back of his mind, he realized that he should feel guilty for snapping at her like that, and he knew he would later. Right now, though, he just reveled in the quiet.

 

They made it to the station all too soon, and Selim was just starting to feel that guilt at Mandy's silence when she called out to him. "Selim, look at this!"

 

Sighing, he walked over to the wall and the various posters and notices that had distracted her as they'd entered the large building.

 

"What is it?" he asked.

 

"They're not going to let you on the train," she said pointing to his "missing" poster. This one didn't have his picture on it, but it had a list of traits. His height, hair color and eye color weren't exactly unique, but the two traits that anyone would notice had been printed in bold at the bottom: A target-shaped birthmark on his forehead and he bares a strong resemblance to Selim Bradley.

 

"Aw man," Selim groaned, subconsciously trying to flatten the permanent cowlick that made his bangs stick up. As usual, it proved to be a futile effort, and his bangs remained standing, leaving the scar for all to see. He'd always felt a tad resentful that he couldn't even hide the stupid thing. "I'm doomed."

 

"Maybe we should just try and hitch a ride to Risembool," she muttered, putting a hand on her chin and regarding the sign thoughtfully. "Or we could walk...but that would add at least a few days onto our trip."

 

Selim shook his head and turned around to walk away as nonchalantly as possible. If he acted like he was hiding or suspicious, more people would notice him.

 

Mandy fell into step beside him, following his lead to one of the several waiting areas that had fewer passengers in it. "What if I bought the tickets?" Mandy asked, brainstorming. "But we'd still have to get you onto the train. Hmm. We have enough money to get you a hat or something...I think."

 

"We don't have much of a choice," Selim replied, taking a seat that faced away from everyone else. "It's either that or hope we can hitch a ride to Risembool. I'm not willing to do that right now. It would take too long and I've worried my mother too much as it is."

 

And there was that incessant giggle. "Aw, he's homesick."

 

He didn't dignify it with a response other than to stand up and move several seats down. He wasn't sulking either. He wasn't.

 

"Oh, don't be like that, sweetie," she said, following him with a bright smile, eyes laughing at his annoyance.

 

"Are you going to go buy a hat or just sit here laughing at me all day?" he asked coldly, fixing her with a glare.

 

"Alright, alright," she said, standing back up. "Be right back, hon."

 

Selim sunk further into his seat and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Was this really all worth it? He could just go back home and forget about it all. Of course, then he'd have to live with the knowledge that everyone around him was keeping something from him, whether it be about him or his parents...or...

 

He sighed, letting his hand flop back onto his legs. "No," he said aloud to himself. He'd always been proud of his ability to comprehend the world around him. Not knowing the huge secret was driving him insane.

 

Then again, he didn't know what he would do once he did find out. If he was just a normal human, than he'd probably just go back to his normal life (although he seriously doubted that would be the case at this point). If he had...questionable heritage, than he could deal with that. Once he found out how to actually control the shadows, maybe he could even use those to help people somehow.

 

No matter what he did, though, his life would still be different, even if only to him. The sudden realization depressed him. If he went home right now and forgot about all of this, he'd still think of himself differently and nothing would change for the better. Johan still probably couldn't be his friend, he doubted his mother would let him walk to school anymore (not that he'd blame her) and everyone at school would still avoid him.

 

However, if he actually found the information he wanted, it could change his self perception far more drastically. What if his father really had been a homunculus? What if Selim was somehow? Would he think worse of himself? Would he think better? What if his parents had been horrible killers like Clemin claimed? What did that make him? What if he really was some sort of monster?

 

He shuddered. That would definitely not be a desirable outcome...but he couldn't just run away, no matter what the answer was. His pride simply wouldn't allow it. He may be many things; a genius; a son; a child; a friend; maybe even a monster...but he was not a coward.

 

Something landing on his head jerked him out of his thoughts.

 

"That's an awfully scary look on your face," Mandy said, grinning down at him. "Smile more. You're cute that way too."

 

Selim sighed tiredly and took the hat she'd bought off of his head. It looked like a paperboy's. Still, it had probably been fairly cheap and it wouldn't look out of place with his school coat.

 

Mandy continued to smile at him as he observed it with mild distaste. "Put it on already, silly goose. We need to go and see when the next train to Risembool leaves."

 

With a shrug, Selim shoved his head into the cap, and went to follow after her as she practically bounded off. With the hat on, he couldn't help but feel much more secure. Now all he had to do was keep his head down a bit and they'd be fine. Well, he hoped so in any case. He wouldn't discount the possibility that someone could still recognize him.

 

It took them almost 45 minutes just to get their tickets, and it turned out the next train wouldn't be leaving for another several hours. Truthfully, they were lucky they'd gotten there that day. Apparently the train only went that far southeast twice a week. They would have had to stay in town another two nights if they'd reached the station a day later.

 

"Well, let's count our blessings," Mandy said as she sat down and pulled out some food from her bag. Selim sighed and nodded from the seat beside her, settling in for the next few hours as he followed her example and took out some wrapped cheese and an apple. He hoped the bread Mandy currently chewed would keep her quiet for a little while. He could feel a headache beginning to build behind his eyes and forehead. It didn't take her long to finish the snack, but thankfully, instead of talking, she took out a notebook and a pencil.

 

He just continued to eat, albeit slowly, happy for the quiet again. The food was doing him good. His headache soon left which improved his mood slightly. After about 45 minutes, she finally spoke. "You know, you never told me what kind of answers you're looking for. If you want an Alchemist's help, you could ask me."

 

He appreciated the try, but Selim couldn't help a scoff. "Do you know anything about homunculi?"

 

She actually started slightly and glanced over at him with an unreadable expression. "I've heard of them," she said slowly. "Only a little though. Why do you want to know?"

 

Well, he'd dragged her along this far. She deserved some answers at least. "I had a run in with someone a few months back. His name is Clemin."

 

"Wait, Brigadier General Clemin?"

 

"The ex-general, yes," Selim corrected with a scowl. "He said that my father was a homunculus."

 

Mandy blinked at him almost unsure of what to think, then she burst out into laughter. "You really believe that some half insane, escaped general would tell you the truth?"

 

Selim's scowl darkened. "I have reason to believe what he said was true."

 

She didn't stop laughing, although she tried. "Like what?"

 

"You saw those shadows move," he muttered. "That's not normal."

 

That shut her up.

 

They sat in the relative quiet for several seconds before she spoke up again. "So you think because you have this strange...power, that your father was an artificial being?"

 

Selim sighed and shrugged, not really wanting to explain it right now.

 

"I...guess that would explain a lot," Mandy admitted, sitting back in her chair. He could tell from her posture and the troubled expression on her face that she still didn't believe him. Scowling, he turned his eyes to the dirty, tiled floor in front of him. He hated being humored like that.

 

Determined to not let her opinion deter him, he responded. "Yes, everything from those shadows to the scar on my head. Maybe it's some sort of mark or tattoo he gave me."

 

"That doesn't look like a scar," the dark-haired girl pointed out.

 

Selim shook his head. "My mother told me it was a birthmark."

 

"Which, if your father was...you know, it could be."

 

Selim raised his eyebrows, considering the point. That hadn't ever occurred to him. His first theory was quickly becoming more likely the more he thought about it.

 

"I thought you said you were adopted," Mandy commented, going back to writing in her journal.

 

"I am."

 

"What about your mother?" She asked, shifting on the hard, wooden chair.

 

"She's my adopted mother."

 

"How would she know if it was a birthmark then?"

 

Selim sighed. "She knows who my parents were. They died in the coup, along with her son and husband. It couldn't have been easy for her, but because I needed a family, she adopted me."

 

Mandy stilled for just a second, but then she continued writing. "You're lucky."

 

Selim chuckled mirthlessly. "Don't I know it."

 

"Why didn't you just ask her then?"

 

A wry smirk found its way onto Selim's face. "I did. She's told me for the last ten years that she'll tell me when I'm older."

 

"That sounds frustrating."

 

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. The way she'd said it made him think she'd suddenly become awfully distracted and a little depressed to him. Without looking at him, she went back to writing in the little book, so he couldn't read her expression. She did seem focused rather suddenly though. Curious and puzzled, he peered at the paper on her lap. "What are you writing?"

 

"Oh this?" she asked, immediately perking up. "It's a journal of all of my journeys! And a record of all of my expenses."

 

Selim raised an eyebrow skeptically. "You're that organized?"

 

"Wouldn't be able to survive otherwise. I'd spend everything I made in an instant," she replied, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly and giving a cheesy—if embarrassed—grin.

 

Selim nodded, conceding the point. She seemed like the type who would do that.

 

After a few more minutes of quiet with the exception of the passengers coming and going, she put her pen into the fold of the notebook to keep its place, and shoved it into the overly large pocket of her coat.

 

"Right, so about those shadows, I was thinking..." she paused.

 

Selim raised an eyebrow as he turned to face her again. "Oh?"

 

"Yeah. It's just that, when I use alchemy, I have to put my energy into it before it works; kind of like a little piece of myself. I've always thought of it as a little piece of my soul. Maybe that's how the shadow thing works. You have to put something into it before you get something out. Have you tried that approach to control the shadows?"

 

"No," Selim said, shaking his head. Then he leaned back in his own chair contemplatively. "I mean, after all it isn't alchemy. The same laws of equivalent exchange won't necessarily apply."

 

"I don't know if it'll work, but it might help," she replied with a shrug.

 

Selim felt a smile crawl across his lips. "Yeah, I'll try it. Thanks."

 

"No problem, cutie." Selim just shook his head and took out some bread to munch on. With nothing else to do, they just sat in the waiting room.

 

After an hour, Mandy grew restless. Selim watched her get up and pace as she thought about something or other. He didn't want to ask her as he didn't want her to go off on something that may very well put him to sleep. He was perfectly happy to relax and enjoy some downtime while they waited for the train to come. She, apparently, wasn't.

 

Finally, after an hour and a half, she sat down and pulled her notebook out again.

 

"Show me those symbols you know, for alchemy," she said. "I hate just sitting."

 

"Noticed," Selim muttered with a smirk. She flipped her notebook to a blank page and handed him the pencil. "Very well, let's see...do you know this one?"

 

xXx

 

With great relief, Selim sunk into a worn, red cushioned train seat. Mandy sat across from him, looking just as relieved. No one had recognized him. Now they just had to worry about the five hour train ride ahead of them. That didn't count the stops they'd make along the way or the people that may potentially get on or off at said stops. Someone might still notice him.

 

For the first hour, they just sat there, Mandy going over the symbols he'd shown her and Selim watching everyone that came and went like a hawk. If someone found them now and turned him into the police or what not, his little escapade would end rather unspectacularly.

 

"You're too tense," Mandy said as she bit into a carrot from her bag, not even bothering to look up at him.

 

"Tense?" he asked. "I'm not that tense."

 

At least this time she did shoot him a dry, 'yeah right' look. "If you sit there and keep staring at people like everyone's an enemy, they'll eventually notice. It makes people uncomfortable. Take it from someone who's been on the road enough. Had to avoid police every now and then. The more relaxed and bored you are, the less anyone notices you."

 

Selim watched her silently as she went back to studying the new symbols he'd shown her. She'd admitted to being in her late teens. How long could she have been on the road? And where did she learn alchemy if that were the case? It wasn't exactly taught to just anyone. Still, she could easily be self taught. Access to basic alchemy books wasn't too difficult to come by.

 

Of course, instead of wondering, he could just ask. "So who taught you alchemy?" he said carefully.

 

The unreadable expression returned. The same look she'd gotten when he'd asked her about homunculi. "My father," she said finally. "He'd studied his whole life to become a state alchemist, but never made it. He still became fairly renowned in my home town, though. He taught me everything he knows."

 

'Knows'. So he was still alive. So why would she have to be ducking around police?

 

"So where is he now?" Selim asked. She didn't answer for several seconds. 'Taboo?' he wondered to himself. "You don't have to answer," he amended.

 

She shrugged. "He's at home last I heard. I ran away when I was fourteen."

 

"Oh? Why?"

 

"Because he got remarried."

 

"Remarried?"

 

She shook her head. "I don't really want to talk about it."

 

Selim blinked, then shrugged. It really wasn't his business and he had no right to pry. "Alright. Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me that much."

 

In a very un-Mandy-like way, she shrugged, expression having gone from non-existent to almost frigid. "Whatever."

 

Taboo, he confirmed to himself and looked back out the window as they pulled into the first train station on their journey. Once he managed to calm down, it didn't take long for him to drift off to sleep.

 

xXx

 

When he awoke again, it was dark outside and the train had almost completely emptied. Across from him, Mandy had curled up on the chair hugging her bundled coat as she snored softly. When the train security passed by, Selim asked for an ETA for Risembool. Apparently they got those kinds of questions all the time because he checked a brass pocket watch and told him they had one more stop, so probably just over two hours. That would still put their Arrival well after midnight.

 

Selim thanked him, and sat back as the man continued to the front of the train. He was just considering going back to sleep when they passed a light post outside, causing the shadows to shift eerily. Blinking down at them, Selim thought back to Mandy's either utterly ridiculous or absolutely brilliant idea.

 

He'd decide which after he tried it. The idea was so simple, he felt a little ridiculous both for not coming up with it himself, and for actually thinking something so stupid might actually work. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on the shadows and putting something of himself into them.

 

Nothing happened.

 

Refusing to let himself get discouraged, he continued to try. He did everything from focusing any energy he might have into them to mentally asking them questions (feeling rather grateful that no one could see into his mind, as he would probably end up waiting for his mother in an institution).

 

After a while, he frowned. It wasn't working. Perhaps Mandy had been wrong after all. Or maybe he needed to somehow reach deeper? Although he had no idea how one could reach more deeply into one's soul, he tried, reaching and pushing the energy out and into the shadows...

 

Suddenly, his eyes flew open and he gasped. He'd definitely done...something. For only a moment, he'd literally been everywhere on the train at once, looking at his own body from every angle imaginable. Even just remembering the multiple perceptions gave him a headache, but he somehow felt giddy, like he had succeeded in his endeavors to some extent.

 

Glancing over at Mandy, and then around at the rest of the sleeping passengers, he found nothing amiss. Everyone in the car still slept soundly. So it hadn't happened to anyone else (not that he'd expected differently, but it confirmed some of his suspicions). Brow furrowing in confusion, he closed his eyes and tried again. This time, it happened almost instantly.

 

He gasped again, but ignored the slightly unpleasant change and clamped firmly onto that feeling. Then he slowly opened his own eyes. It added one more perspective to the five different view points he could suddenly see simultaneously, but otherwise nothing changed.

 

He let out a slight chuckle of triumph and sat back in his chair. He didn't know exactly what he'd done, but it felt like progress. The entire situation seemed suddenly surreal, like one of his dreams, except not so much of a nightmare as just a fact. The shadows had always seemed to be there, waiting for him. Experimentally, he looked down and called one to him. Instantly a vague form lifted up and swirled to meet his outstretched hand. He could almost make out what looked like an eye on it.

 

From said eye, he could also see himself. The whole experience didn't do much for his head, but he was too excited that he'd figured it out to care. It came from him, from his own shadow, he realized. That was the key. His shadow was the link between him and the other shadows, and he could control them at will.

 

For several minutes, he just sat there, watching it and watching himself through it. It was, to say the least, strange. Captivated, he reached a hand out to stroke it. He didn't know quite what to expect, but it wasn't what he got. To his surprise, his fingers met...nothing.

 

No, that wasn't quite accurate. He could feel something there, but it didn't feel very different from the air he breathed, except...denser. It was more like a sudden pressure given form.

 

"Wow," he muttered to himself. These shadows could cut through metal and hold someone so firmly they couldn't possibly escape but weren't really made of anything?

 

"Mandy," he whispered, suddenly wanting to show off his accomplishment. It wasn't bragging, he told himself. "Mandy, you've got to-"

 

A noise behind him cut off his train of thought and he whipped around, suddenly wary. Mandy could handle his strange, new power. He doubted many other people could. Through the windows between cars, he could see the security man coming back. The curse he spat could have made even Johan raise an eyebrow.

 

With one last, regrettable look at the shadow, he willed it away and cut off his connection to it. Almost instantly everything returned to normal. Breathing a sigh of relief, he began to turn and face the man when a sudden bout of fatigue hit him so hard and fast, he didn't realize he had lain down until his head hit the seat.

 

Then the surreal feeling came back, although this time it had more to do with his dimming senses that refused to stay active. It was like his body suddenly wanted to rebel against his mind. He could not stop himself from slipping into unconsciousness.

[jedi_master_gimpy]

Wow, talk about a whole lot of progress! I didn't expect Selim to start getting answers until he met up with the brothers, but it's already started, at least in terms of his abilities! Really, I guess that opens up a lot more possibilities for how it works. If he already knows some but feels uncomfortable or overly proud if his abilities, he might be more likely to hide it from them, and thus make this all that much more complicated.

 

I thought this post was really good at overall development. We have Selim and Mandy moving forward in location towards the Elric brothers, continuing to figure out their balance as traveling companions, we learned quite a bit more about Mandy, and Selim learned at least part of what he can do with the shadows! Really, just the fact that they are shadows adds something so sinister to the ability, and you've done a good job of making Selim seem to continually skirt at the edges of "how will he use this," even if it never seems like he would purposefully choose to do evil. It's just always... you know... his pride. The fact that using his shadow powers completely drains him makes sense, but it also will act as a dangerous/good (depending on the situation) limiting factor.

 

Anyway, it's a solid update, can't wait to see how Mandy reacts once he gets the chance to tell her! I did notice a larger number of smaller grammatical problems than normal, though. They're all quick fixes:

 

He'd been informed by a rather grouchy Mr. Corrins that morning that if he wanted to clean up, he would have to either use the stream, or fill the bathtub...one bucket at a time.

I liked all the details about the stream and washing up that added character, but remove the extra comma after "stream"

As they approached the city in the back of another cart that had passed them by earlier (lead by two brothers who seemed to be annoyed that they had to take a cart instead of their parents car), Selim couldn't help but be reminded of home.

"Lead" should be "led," and "parents' car" instead of "parents car."

Mandy, for her part, had taken up residence in the empty cart (in much better shape than the Corrins had been) on a bit of a shelf directly behind the young men and had been laughing and joking with them.

Should be "Corrins' " since you're referring to the Corrins' wagon.

As soon as they were out of ear shot, Selim shot Mandy an annoyed look.

Earshot is one word.

They started off towards the stations with Mandy in front, as happy and chipper as ever.

Should just be station, singular.

 

Looking forward to the next installment!

[Obi-quiet]

Oh yeah, Selim's going to start getting a lot more answers here. ^^; Truthfully, the Elrics have even more reason to give him the run-around than most of Central does. Poor kid.

 

I dispise stagnant stories, so I constantly try to keep mine moving. I'm glad you liked the development. There really is so much I need to go into with the story that even though it feels fast, I still have...at least 8 more chapters to this (after the following chapter), so it's paced accordingly. I hope it doesn't come across as too speedy.

 

Oh, Selim's little power can be FAR more sinster than just moving darkness...he's actually on my top 10 for "just plain creepy" people...you know, the kind that scare the daylights out of me? I mean, there's Legato from Tri-gun, and Thrawn (because he really is just that creepy!) and Selim and the Shadowen from the Shannara series...yeah. They all have uberly creepy powers or personalities. Like I said, poor kid. Doesn't know what he's in for. ^^;

 

Thanks again for the reviews. You're all amazing!

 

Chapter 7

 

Selim had long since become used to the nightmares. They happened on a regular basis and he'd had them ever since he could remember. Over the years, he had forced himself to learn to deal with the horrific images, cold feelings and downright sickening ideas those dreams brought. Only when he was particularly tired or just dozing did he tend to have dreamless sleep.

 

“Selim.”

 

He hated it when he had to wake up from those blissfully restful nights where the dreams didn't plague him. That, and he felt particularly tired at the moment, like he hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep in months. Hadn't he just closed his eyes?

 

“Five more minutes,” he muttered. Somewhere in his mind, he was vaguely surprised at himself. It had been years since he'd said something like that.

 

“Selim, the train's about to leave, get up!”

 

“Train?” he muttered, regrettably forcing his eyes open. All that met him was darkness and a face barely visible from the light shining through the window. It was surrounded by black frizz. “Mandy?”

 

She sighed and nodded before switching to shaking her head, obviously not in the mood to joke or giggle like normal. Actually, now that he looked hard enough, she seemed rather droopy-eyed too.

 

“We can sleep in the station,” she muttered. Nodding, Selim gathered his bag (now almost empty of food despite Mr. Corrins’ warning) and the hat that had fallen off when he'd struggled to get up. Slowly, they stumbled out of the car and onto the platform.

 

In the dark, Selim could only just make out old and small, but well kept buildings that could barely pass for a station.

 

“Where do we go?” he mumbled tiredly.

 

Mandy shrugged. After a few minutes, one of the security men from the train saw them just standing there in a tired daze and took pity on them.

 

“Just head over there,” he said simply, pointing to a door. “The waiting room is inside.”

 

“Thanks,” Mandy muttered and started off in the general direction the man had pointed to.

 

“No problem,” he called after her.

 

It took every ounce of will just for Selim to keep his eyes open. He fixed the goal of finding somewhere to sleep in his mind and refused to let go of the thought until he found a decent place. Somehow, he doubted the open-aired train platform counted. Desperate for anything to keep his mind going, he scanned their surroundings blearily and found, to his surprise, that the station stood empty. “Were there any other passengers that got off with us?” he asked, glancing behind him at the train.

 

“Don't know. Don't care,” Mandy replied, words slurring together slightly.

 

Selim nodded in agreement, conceding the point despite the fact that she couldn't see him. Somehow, they made it to the door of the station, and she opened it. Stumbling inside, they found a modest selection of chairs and benches waiting for them.

 

Without a second thought, they both managed to collapse on opposing sides of the closest section and in moments, they were out.

 

xXx

 

Mrs. Baker sat dumbly in her chair, feet tucked neatly to the side as she stared blankly out the window. Two military officers she hadn't seen in over a year sat in front of her now. The tea on the table had long since cooled, and none of the three cups had been emptied.

 

The fact that these two had come to see her proved the dire nature of the situation—not that she hadn't known that to begin with. After all, she'd been told by the military government several times that they would keep an eye on her son.

 

The worst part was, she couldn't really bring herself to blame them.

 

“Mrs. Br—Baker?” Major General Mustang ventured, breaking the still silence that had fallen over the room.

 

“N-new Optain?”

 

“Yes,” the dark-haired man said with a nod. “And we lost his trail from there.”

 

“They're going to kill him, aren't they,” she whispered, speaking the question as more of a statement.

 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the two exchange glances. “Not if we can help it, Ma'am,” Lt. Hawkeye said. A lieutenant speaking out without verbal consent? She almost shook her head at the lack of decorum, but otherwise would have smiled at exchange. She couldn't bring herself to disapprove. Their particular relationship had always amused her and she took what comfort she could from the normalcy of it now.

 

After a moment, she sighed. “You don't have to keep the pretense up, Lieutenant, General. I can't say I would blame you if you took this chance to rid yourselves of him permanently. You have always had your reasons to...dislike him.”

 

“With all due respect, Ma'am,” the General spoke up with a hard edge, “we will treat this like a normal kidnapping and return him to you as quickly as we can unless we have proof that other action is needed.”

 

She couldn't help the slight waver that came to her voice as she turned to look back out the window. “He can die, you know. He heals and grows like a normal human being; he hasn't manifested any powers. I know you've never cared for him, General,” she turned to glance at him, eyes pleading, “but he's still my son. He's all I have left.”

 

She didn't hear the man sigh, but she could read the sentiment in his expression. “Mrs. Baker, you have my word. If we find him and he does not require medical attention and has not regained any harmful memories, we will release him into your custody as soon as we can get him back to Central.”

 

His words meant more to her than he realized. He'd been one of the people who had suffered most because of Selim. To this day, his dark eyes still remained slightly milky, a testament of his bout with and success over an unnatural blindness. However, she was not by any means naïve, and caught the threat that his words also carried.

 

“And if he has...remembered?” She asked softly.

 

He didn't answer for several minutes. He didn't need to. When he finally opened his mouth, it was only to confirm what all of them already knew. “We will do what we have to. I'm sorry.”

 

She couldn't answer him, so she glanced back at the window, willing her already broken heart to be still and mentally preparing herself to pick up the pieces when what was left of it shattered.

 

“Please,” she muttered to the window. “Please be safe, and please be my Selim.”

 

xXx

 

When Selim awoke the next morning, he felt infinitely better. It had been a long time since he'd slept that well. Of course, he hadn't been that tired in a while too. It seemed that the shadow thing took a lot out of him.

 

His eyes flew open as the previous night came to mind. A sense of excitement at his accomplishment and the innate desire to show it off bubbled up again in his chest and he couldn't help but shake his head at the childish feeling. He didn't need anyone's approval, although he was going to thank Mandy for her suggestion, and she'd undoubtedly want proof.

 

Sitting up, he began to notice how stiff his body was from sleeping on the hard, train-station bench. With a wince and a sigh, he began to stretch, trying to loosen the protesting muscles.

 

“So you're finally awake,” Mandy's voice came from behind him. He managed to twist his body without hurting too much, eyes sweeping over the fairly plain waiting area to land on her. She sat behind him reading a local paper like it was the most offensive thing on the planet. He'd never seen that annoyed of an expression on her face.

 

“What's wrong with you?” he asked, voice still thick with sleep.

 

“Oh nothing,” she said with fake nonchalance. “I'm just a little ticked that we came all this way for nothing.” With that, she shot him a glare.

 

“What do you mean?” he asked, a little annoyed that he sounded so confused. He must have been really tired last night.

 

She folded the small paper and set it aside, now fully scowling at him. “The Elrics are gone. Have been for a few weeks. Apparently they went to Xing to visit relatives or something. We wasted all of that time for nothing.”

 

Selim felt his heart sink at each of her words, and when she'd finished her explanation, he slumped back against the bench in defeat. It didn't take him too long to realize that Mandy hadn't stopped glaring at him.

 

“What?” he asked, returning the sentiment. “Why are you angry at me?”

 

“You didn't even check to make sure he would be here?” she asked.

 

“It was kind of a last moment decision,” Selim defended. “As I recall, you were there when I made it.”

 

“I guess your act of responsibility took me in. I just assumed you would have done your homework.”

 

That got on Selim's nerves more than he would care to admit. “Since there obviously is a way for me to pry into a complete stranger's life and make sure he'd be where I need him to be,” he defended with a growl.

 

“It would just take a phone call. Phones aren't that difficult to come by,” Mandy responded.

 

“Of course,” Selim replied, his own false nonchalance completely in place. “I can imagine that conversation: 'I'm just calling to see if Mr. Elric is there. Oh no, there's no reason why I'm calling to the only public phone in the town instead of actually sending a telegram to ask them. Oh, by the way, do they even have a phone?'” he shot her a dry look. “Phones are still expensive enough out here in the rural areas that the chances of finding one are minuscule at best.”

 

“The older Elric brother's wife is an automail specialist. She has to have a phone. It wouldn't be that difficult to get that number!” Her voice had risen as she continued.

 

In contrast, his had begun to quiet down. “Forgive me for not knowing personal details like that. I don't usually make a habit of stalking people.”

 

“Stalking? It's simple logic and facts!”

 

“Why are you so upset?” Selim responded. “Are you angry that we missed them or are you angry because a run away such as yourself obviously has somewhere else to be?”

 

He could tell that he'd gone too far, but he refused to back down. He was right, after all. Why should he?

 

“The recruiting,” she responded, sounding a little more subdued, and far more hurt. “For the alchemy. It may be over.”

 

“Then why did you accompany me?”

 

“For the reward!”

 

Selim almost couldn't stop the grin of triumph from spreading across his face. Game; set; match. “And which is more important to you? My reward and meeting the alchemists, or finding a job, because I doubt this hasn't crossed your mind before. You obviously wanted to come here and meet the Elrics as much as I did and you took that chance. Now that your gamble didn't pay off, you are simply taking your anger out on me. Please refrain from doing so as it is not only misplaced but almost more annoying than your normal personality.”

 

For several minutes she just sat there watching him, that same mask of inexpression on her face. Then she reached down and calmly picked up the paper, stood up and strode rather purposefully away from him. As she passed, she dropped a ticket onto the seat next to him. Before he could bring himself to ask about it, she'd left the station.

 

Blinking a little in surprise, he glanced down at the ticket and picked it up. It would take him all the way back to Central. She'd probably spent the last of her money on this ticket, and then she'd just left... Apparently he'd said enough that even the reward wasn't worth his company anymore.

 

His gaze turned back to the door she'd disappeared through and he suddenly felt empty. He'd won the argument and kept his pride intact, but had it really been worth it to hurt her so obviously, especially when she was still trying to look out for him? He should apologize, but something inside of him really didn't want to.

 

Caught in his miniature dilemma, he sat on the bench until the train back to East City came about an hour later, apparently making its return trip. Knowing that she had to be on the train too, he kept an eye out for her, hoping at least that they wouldn't part on such bad terms.

 

He didn't see her.

 

It wasn't until about half an hour into the trip that he realized he hadn't ever thanked her or told her about his new control over the shadows.

 

Of course, that only made him feel worse.

 

xXx

 

He reached East City with no problems at all whatsoever. Apparently his hat did its job at hiding his identity well. Either that or the general human populace just didn't care. He wouldn't be surprised if either or both were true.

 

After being told that there would be a three hour stop here to restock the coal and give their passengers a break, he decided to get off instead of staying and waiting on the very warm, stuffy train. He felt relieved to finally be heading home. Relieved and strangely depressed, although for the life of him he couldn't figure out why. He'd even gotten rid of the annoying chatterbox (even if he did feel a little bad about that).

 

So why did he find himself hoping for a problem to arise—with the train perhaps; something that would just give him a few extra hours, or a day? He couldn’t quite figure it out. He was looking forward to seeing his mother and the servants again. It would be difficult, getting used to new bodyguards (he felt a pang of regret and thankfulness for Sam and Nick), but there were other servants he'd come to like who would still be there. The maid that liked to tell him jokes, for instance. Or Mrs. Ecklestein, the cook who would let him sneak spoonfuls of the not-yet-finished desserts. Oh yes, once he got back he'd ask for a feast. With how he felt now, he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to eat enough to appease his stomach. Throughout his little adventure, he'd tried to hold back on his rather insatiable appetite and once he got home he could eat his fill. He also wanted to see Johan again, even if they still couldn't be friends.

 

Besides, they all needed to know that he was alright.

 

So why did he feel so reluctant? Was it because he hadn't gotten the answers he'd wanted? Thinking about it, he decided that that did have something to do with it, but it wasn't the main problem. As he sat in the train station, chewing on the last of the bread and cheese Mr. Corrins had packed for him, he couldn't seem to come up with an answer.

 

Why didn't he want to go home?

 

Frustrated at himself, he decided to explore more of his control over shadows while he mulled the question over. Closing his eyes, he focused on his own shadow. It took longer than it had the second time the night before, but he was finally able to establish a connection. It took him a moment to get to a point where the additional sensory input didn't completely overwhelm him. Initially he began to try and focus on one eye (or 'window', as he decided to call them), and was rather proud of himself for being able to do so. All he found he needed to do was close the other eyes.

 

Briefly he wondered just how many windows he could open, but didn't want to press his luck. He'd been so drained from doing this the night before, and he'd be heading back to New Optain again. There shouldn't be a problem if he just passed through on the train, but there was still an uncomfortable possibility that he'd meet his kidnappers again.

 

Than again, he could defend himself this time, but only if he wasn't dead to the world because he'd tired himself out practicing and playing around with the shadows. After about ten minutes of experimenting with the windows, he closed all of them and started trying to move the shadows subtly—as he was not by any means the only person in the large, brick station so at odds with the small, wooden one in Risembool.

 

He found it simultaneously easy and difficult to keep the shadow movement small and realized that true control would take a while. No one noticed though, even when he accidentally had one shadow move too much or made it bigger than he originally wanted to.

 

After several blatant dismissals, he decided to test just how stupid the people around him were. He'd find a target, and then move the shadows at their feet until they noticed. Once they did a double take, he'd release control and they'd only find a simple shadow under their scrutiny. For some reason he found this act satisfying and entertaining.

 

Then he felt just the slightest throb from his forehead.

 

Stupid humans. Selim almost jumped, losing control over one particular shadow he'd been using to try and get one man's attention as he read a book. He whipped around in his chair. It had almost sounded like someone had whispered in his ear.

 

“What? Who was that?” He asked, whirling around in the opposite direction, but no one behind him seemed to be interested in his antics. The only person who had taken a seat particularly near him that remained awake was an older woman who glanced over with a curious and rather disdainful look.

 

Brow furrowing, he leaned back into his chair. Great, now he was hearing things. Sighing, he glanced at the giant clock set on the wall between a large pair of windows. He still felt the little things he'd been doing with the shadows had taken their toll, and he decided to try and relax until they called for boarding on the train again. It was awfully warm in here too. He took off his hat and wiped the sweat from his head. Maybe he should have stayed on the train. Too late now.

 

After fanning himself a bit, he replaced the hat and slumped against the seat's back. He'd only just gotten comfortable when a shadow fell over him.

 

“Well look what we have here,” a familiar voice had Selim's blood running cold and his eyes snapped up to the large man standing before him and the woman standing beside him with her arms folded.

 

“Oh look, Marlin, we caught our little runaway monster,” the blond-haired woman said with a predatory grin. “Whatever will we do with him?

 

Selim gulped. They'd found him, and this time he wouldn't have any help come to the rescue. He tensed up and reached for the shadows.

 

“Where's your little friend?” Marlin asked, looking around at the passengers that had taken up temporary residence in the waiting room.

 

Selim's mouth formed a thin line. “She'll be right back.”

 

“Is that right?” Marlin asked as he took a seat next to Selim. Then he glanced up at the woman who continued to stand there uncomfortably, a hand on her darkly tinted glasses. “Just sit down, Bonnie.”

 

She sighed and took a seat on the other side of Selim. He glanced around. If he made a break for it now, and they pulled out weapons, innocent people might get hurt.

 

Who cares? They're worthless. He jumped again at that voice. Where was it coming from? He didn't dare look around this time, too stiff and tense with his kidnappers sitting beside him.

 

“Listen, kid,” Bonnie said with a sigh, “we wanted to apologize.”

 

Selim blinked, creepy voice momentarily forgotten as he looked over at her. “Excuse me?”

 

“We've decided to cut all ties with the FFO,” Marlin replied, sounding more than a bit put out.

 

“Why?” Selim asked.

 

Bonnie shrugged. “The original ideals behind the FFO were to reform the government. Then they got this new leader, this Clemin guy you were talking about, I guess.” Selim's frown deepened, but he didn't say anything so she continued. “He's only been at the head for a few months and he's already changed it so much. Now it’s more about taking over the current government than anything.”

 

“And you disagree?” Selim asked.

 

“We agree the government needs to change,” Marlin's gruff voice interjected. “But the FFO's new ideas aren't going to change anything.”

 

“It'll just make it worse,” Bonnie muttered, playing with her glasses again. Now that she was so close, he could actually see her eyes through the sunglasses and blinked.

 

“You're eyes...they're red,” he said.

 

She shot him a glare than looked away. Now that he looked he could see her hair had been died to look blond. A very convincing blond.

 

“You're Ishbalan,” he stated, blinking in surprise.

 

“So what of it?” she growled.

 

“N-nothing,” Selim responded, taken aback by her attitude. “I'm just wondering why you're hiding it. Weren't the laws against the Ishbalans lifted after the coup?”

 

“Changing a few laws doesn't get rid of the prejudice,” she responded with a sigh.

 

“But your people helped to save the country!”

 

She shook her head. “And before that how many lives were lost in a pointless war? Some things take longer than a few decades to change.”

 

They sat there in silence for several minutes. Finally Selim got tired of the tense atmosphere and spoke again. “So why are you guys here if you're not following me?”

 

Marlin scoffed. “Are you joking? We thought you'd high-tailed it back to Central. Made straight for the train station, but never caught you. We even tried following you on foot. That' when we split up with Falk.”

 

“The sniper?” Selim asked dryly.

 

“Yeah,” Bonnie said with a shake of her head. “We split up because he was sure you'd head back to central and he thought we were slowing him down.” She scoffed. “I'm surprised he didn't just kill us right then and there.”

 

“Me too,” Selim muttered, a slight shudder at the memory of the thin man, suddenly very glad he'd decided to head down to Risembool. Was returning to Central now a good idea if that sniper would be there waiting for him?

 

“Anyway, we had no clue you'd take the long way around just to avoid us. Good job, kid,” Bonnie said, sounding more than a little begrudging.

 

“And why should I suddenly believe that you don't want to have anything to do with me?” Selim asked, realizing he'd begun to relax. Immediately he stiffened up again. These two had kidnapped him before. Why should he trust them? “What brought about this change?”

 

The two exchanged glances, then Bonnie sighed. “We got word that they were behind the supposed alchemist jobs your friend was talking about. Problem is there have been rumors of some of them disappearing.” Selim forcefully swallowed the lump that rose in his throat. Well that didn’t sound foreboding at all. “And there have been even more rumors about FFO amassing an army to go against Central.”

 

“What?!” Selim blurted out. “We have to warn Central then!”

 

“Calm down, kid,” Marlin muttered. “They already know. Been making preparations themselves, getting non-military families out of Central all quiet like for the past few days.”

 

“You can tell them when you get back, if you want,” Bonnie added. “We don't care. You can call them now even.”

 

“What are you doing then?” Selim asked.

 

“We're heading to Xing.”

 

“Xing?” Selim asked. “Why?”

 

“We're not going to be a part of a war if we can help it,” Bonnie replied. Marlin gave a firm nod in agreement. “Besides,” she continued, “we're not exactly the most upstanding citizens, if you know what I mean. As far as we can see it, we don't have much of a choice.”

 

Selim scowled but didn't respond. Worthless cowards. The voice said again. Selim jumped.

 

“What's wrong with you?” Marlin asked. “You're awfully jumpy.”

 

The dark-haired teen's heart sank. If they hadn't heard that... “I am sitting here with two people who kidnapped me,” he muttered defensively. Probably not a good idea to let them know he was hearing a voice that didn't seem to care for them.

 

Of course the 'hearing a voice' thing didn't bode well for him either.

 

“Anyway, we wanted to warn you about Falk. You may want to find somewhere else to hole up for a while.” Marlin said as he stood up.

 

“Now that we told you, consider us even,” Bonnie muttered. “See you around, kid.”

 

Selim wasn't normally an impulsive person. He liked to study and think things through. He didn't do so well thinking on his feet, so to speak. As such, he took his time coming to conclusions when he had to, and it didn't bother him.

 

At that moment, he had three thoughts in mind: One: He couldn't go back to Central without risking his life, and potentially the life of others around him. Two: He had a new, rather creepy voice in his head that seemed to like to belittle those around him (although he hoped that one would go away if he just ignored it). Three: He needed answers, no one wanted to give him, and the only people he knew of who might be both able and willing to do so were in Xing at the moment.

 

“Wait,” he said after the two adults' retreating backs. They paused and glanced back at him. He mentally smacked himself. What was he doing?

 

“What?” Marlin asked gruffly.

 

Selim swallowed and felt his fists clench at his side. This was a rather unique chance after all, if (perhaps) not the most intelligent. “D...do you have room for one more?”

 

xXx

 

Author's Note: So I got a new beta reader and he already has up to chapter 13 back to me, so this should be updated far more quickly from here on out.

[Obi-quiet]

Okay, for anyone who is interested, here's a link to Selim, ideas and sketches as to how he would look at different older ages (older than he was in the series in any case) :

[Obi-quiet]

Chapter 8

 

What am I dong? Seriously, what am I doing? Selim asked himself over and over again as he sat by the side of the train tracks a little over a mile away from the station. And since when did I start trusting these two? He glanced to the side to see his two kidnappers waiting patiently for the train to pass by.

 

“This is going to be difficult,” Bonnie whispered, loudly enough for them to hear.

 

Marlin seemed to have taken it upon himself to explain all of his companion's words to Selim. Apparently, she didn't have the patience for such things. Selim found it a bit entertaining seeing as he'd taken the man as someone who didn't actually say much and his companion to be the one who explained. “We have to come at the train from this side, or the engineer might see us,” he said. “Actually, they still might, if we're not lucky. We wait for the box cars at the back of the train, and at least two must pass before we can even come out. On a normal train that leaves us about three until the caboose. If we don't make it by the caboose, the conductors there will see us and we'll have to high-tail it out of here.”

 

Selim raised an eyebrow at his wording. 'High-tail' wasn't exactly a word he would have expected to come from the man with the most cultured accent he'd met on his excursion. Marlin ignored the expression and continued. “It's going to be tough because it's a straight shot from the station, so if anyone is looking they probably will see us. That's why we had to get out this far. The train is going to be moving pretty fast by the time it gets here. If you can't get on by the time the beginning of the second to last box gets to you, duck and run back down by the side of the road or you'll put us in danger too.”

 

“If you can't make it, kid, you're on your own,” Bonnie muttered.

 

“I'll keep up,” Selim responded with a scowl.

 

The man shrugged, scratching his gray head before he checked the straps on his backpack for what seemed like the thirtieth time. Bonnie didn't so much as acknowledge him. She seemed a little different from when he'd last spoken with her; colder and more stand-offish. Marlin, in comparison, seemed to have warmed up to him.

 

They had been waiting for almost an hour so far and he still couldn't believe he was waiting to illegally hitch a train ride to a country he would illegally sneak into with two criminals who had kidnapped him so he could find two Alchemists who might give him some answers about his heritage (and maybe the stupid voice that still seemed to like to pop up every now and then).

 

Selim shuddered. The last time said voice had said something, it had told Selim he didn't need these people (well, it had called them scum, but that was the gist of it). He sighed and turned to look back down towards the station, and that's when he caught the change of smell in the air.

 

“Uh, I'll be right back,” he said suddenly, not waiting for a response.

 

The land surrounding East City consisted of a lot of dirty fields and a smattering of sickly trees across them. The open spaces behind Selim actually had several trees lining it. That was where he headed, hopping a fence and coming to rest in the corner of a field that had obviously already been harvested that year. The mud he landed in attested to that.

 

“What is it with you and mud?” he asked, annoyed.

 

“Have you lost your mind?” A high-pitched voice hissed back. “What are you doing with them?”

 

Mandy peeked carefully around the tree, her hair out of the frizz and back into the curls. Apparently she'd found some place to wash up.

 

“Uh...” Selim started, then stopped, trying to think of what he could actually say to her. He could lie, but he didn't see much of a need to. Unfortunately, she took his pause as an invitation to continue.

 

“You do realize those are the people that kidnapped you, dragged you out here, and they were planning on handing you over to someone who may very well have wanted you dead, right?”

 

Selim shrugged, uncaring. “Yes. They've since apologized and warned me of some danger.”

 

She turned to stare at him incredulously. “Seriously? You believe them?”

 

“They are leaving the country.”

 

“What does that have to do with anything?! Maybe they're going to meet their employer!”

 

“They were working for the FFO before.”

 

Mandy glared at him. “So they say! We have no reason to believe them!” No, he really didn't. But something else had come up.

 

Pathetic. Kill her and forget about this. Selim almost gasped. Kill? Okay, that definitely wasn't good.

 

“The Elrics are in Xing.”

 

“So you plan on going into a country, without papers of any sort, and then you want to traipse all over it, without any money, with the two people who wanted to kidnap you, so that you can find two alchemists who may or may not still be there so you can get some answers about your father? Answers, which by the way, you've been living without for fifteen years.” Her voice had raised several notches towards the end of her little run-on sentence.

 

Selim thought about it. When she put it that way, it did sound rather stupid. It also sounded like a bit of fun. It would definitely be safer than facing Falk.

 

“Yeah, basically,” he said finally and turned to go.

 

“Selim, no! Stop acting so childish!” She said as she practically leapt forward and grabbed his coat.

 

“Maybe I am acting childish,” he responded calmly, even as he shook off her hand. “But I have thought this through. Do you remember their third companion? The sniper you never got to see? He's not with them anymore. He's at my house, waiting for me to come waltzing up.”

 

Mandy stopped and stared at him for a few seconds, before her brow furrowed in anger. “So we'll talk to the police! Or the military!”

 

“The police and military are busy planning for a possible invasion by the FFO.”

 

“In Central!”

 

Selim smiled. It wasn't friendly. “So, you heard about it too? They told me that,” he gestured towards where the two adults crouched. “Doesn't that make the rest of their information more plausible?”

 

“No! No it doesn't!”

 

“And why should I trust you any more?” Selim asked. “You who just left me to make my own way back?”

 

“I followed you here! I'm trying to keep you safe!”

 

Selim scoffed. “Fat lot of good you did. You make a lousy bodyguard.”

 

“At least I'm trying not to get you killed!” Somewhere along the line she'd seemed to have forgotten that they were whispering for a reason. “Something which you suddenly seem completely intent on doing! Now, you are coming with me!”

 

With that, she reached over to grab him. His eyes hardened and he glanced down at his shadow. The darkness came up and wrapped itself around her arm just as she grabbed him again.

 

Immediately, she stopped, staring at the dark loop before turning to look back at Selim. He didn't like what he saw there. Surprise, wonder, and more than a little fear. Some part of him almost reveled in that, but he really didn't care for the truth of that fact.

 

“B-but, I thought you couldn't control it...”

 

Selim deflated, looking away. “Your suggestion. It wasn't right on, but it helped. A lot. I never got the chance to thank you. I still can't control it all that well, but they obey me now; the shadows.” He sighed and glanced back up at her. “This is proof that I'm not normal, Mandy. I have to get these answers. And if I have to go tear another country apart to figure this out, then I will.”

 

“And why can't we just go back and wait in Risembool?”

 

“Did you ask when they were coming back?”

 

She shook her head and sighed, letting go of his arm. “No, but it can’t be that long.”

 

“I need these answers, and I need them as soon as possible, before something happens, like I lose control of them.” Or the voice in his head actually convinced him that he should hurt or kill someone.

 

“And how do you think you'll manage to get into Xing?”

 

He shrugged. “Sneak in.”

 

“You do realize that that will probably consist of walking for several miles through a desert, right?”

 

No, he hadn't realized that, but that didn't lessen his resolve any. So he shrugged. “I'll deal.”

 

She put a hand up to the bridge of her nose, massaging it.

 

“You’re awfully stubborn, brat. You know that?” Selim didn’t respond. After a few seconds, she threw her hands up into the air. “Fine,” she muttered, “then I'm coming with you.”

 

Selim raised an eyebrow as he caused the shadow to release her arm. “That's an awfully long way to go for a meal ticket.”

 

She shot a glare at him. “This stopped being about a meal ticket the moment you decided that those two would be good playmates,” she muttered dryly. “Can't we catch our own train?”

 

“Next one leaves next week,” he muttered. “It's now or we may as well go wait in Risembool.”

 

“I still think that would be a better idea.”

 

“Yes,” Selim admitted. “Probably, but I'm still doing this. Are you coming?”

 

She sighed again. “Yeah.”

 

They hopped the fence, landing in the long grass that lined the tracks and started walking back. As they did so, Selim glanced over at Mandy, and realized just what he was dragging her into, and what she was willing to do for him, even after he'd been mean enough that she hadn't even wanted to approach him. Maybe it really wasn't all about the meal ticket anymore.

 

“Hey, I'm...sorry for what I said back in Risembool,” he found himself muttering, ignoring the vague sense of disapproval and betrayal that drifted to him from the back of his mind somewhere.

 

She sighed. “You were right. I was taking it out on you when it really wasn't all your fault and I did think about going to Risembool first, over the job thing. I was acting just as childishly as you were.”

 

“If not more so,” Selim returned.

 

She elbowed him with a scowl. “Don't know if I'd go that far.” They took the next few steps in a contemplative silence before she spoke again. “Do you really find me that annoying?”

 

Selim winced inwardly, but again, he didn't see much of a point in lying. “Uh, yeah, I kinda do.”

 

Instead of looking offended, she seemed to think about this for a second, looking up at the sky. “I guess that's a good thing,” she said, half to herself.

 

“Seriously?” Selim asked. “You like to annoy people?”

 

She chuckled. “Of course not, sweetie. Only you.”

 

He'd take that as an ‘I forgive you.’

 

“Will you two get down?” Bonnie's voice hissed at them. “The train's coming!”

 

“Right,” Selim responded, ducking down and hurrying towards the two figures he'd left behind only minutes before.

 

“Nice to see you decided not to ditch your girlfriend,” Marlin muttered.

 

“I didn't ditch—hey, girlfriend?!”

 

Marlin chuckled, Mandy giggled, and Bonnie rolled her eyes while Selim blushed. He'd never thought about Mandy like that. First of all, she was older. He'd never gone for older women (well, women in general really as he tended to not be so good around girls). Second of all...she was Mandy.

 

Disgusting. Selim gulped and looked away from all of them, although this time it wasn't out of embarrassment.

 

Shut up, he told it.

 

So, you finally acknowledge me?

 

Face drawing into a scowl, he purposefully looked down the tracks at the approaching train. The voice chuckled, but thankfully didn't say anything else.

 

By the time the train had reached them, it had already picked up a good deal of speed. Selim began to doubt whether he could actually catch it.

 

“Now!” Marlin said, jumping up and scrambling up the side of the tracks. He caught the handle on the side fairly easily and swung in between the carts. Bonnie was right behind him, pulling herself up expertly, even if she did almost trip. Selim was next. The handle hanging off of the side of the car was almost too high for him, but he had little trouble keeping up with the train. It just took a bit of a jump, and he was up. Then he looked back at Mandy. She kept trying to reach for it, but had already fallen a few feet behind.

 

Determined, she looked down at the ground in front of her, obviously concentrating on moving faster, but the train was still gaining speed. She wasn't going to make it, and there was nothing he could...

 

An idea came to his mind. He realized he didn't have a lot of time to think about it and threw caution to the wind. Concentrating, he focused on his shadow, now mixed with the shadow of the box car, and threw it out. It obeyed his will, reaching out and catching her arm before dragging her forward with a yelp. He caught one hand while the other caught the handle.

 

“Thanks,” she gasped as she pulled herself up beside him.

 

“No problem,” Selim grinned and turned to see that Marlin had indeed gotten the door open. They quickly filed inside.

 

“Close the door,” Bonnie said.

 

“We need to make spaces behind the luggage,” Marlin explained. “Small, separate areas so that if one of us is found, the rest of us won't be.”

 

“Right,” Selim responded, moving to a corner of the room and working to shift the bags, boxes and chests that had been piled there. The other three took to their own corners and began to do the same.

 

Marlin continued to explain, even as he worked on his own space. “Once the conductor comes through, count to twenty and then come back here so we can tell you what's going on. It may take an hour for him to come through, it may take minutes. That's why we've got to hurry.”

 

“So shut up, and keep working,” Bonnie hissed.

 

“What's wrong with you?” Marlin returned.

 

Bonnie huffed. “Nothing. Just hurry.”

 

They each managed to scoot enough to the side to have a small space just for themselves. Selim looked at his rather tiny clearing with growing unease. They wouldn't be able to have lights either. At least it wouldn't be completely closed off.

 

“Now get inside, and stay quiet,” he heard Bonnie say and turned around just in time to see her disappear behind some boxes. Selim had to admit, he was impressed. It didn't even look like there was any space available back there at all. She was the first to really get done. Mandy was second, surprisingly. Probably because of her slight frame.

 

“Do you need some help, Marlin?” Selim asked once he was satisfied with his hiding place.

 

“Nah. Always takes me longer. Get hiding.”

 

Selim nodded and took a deep breath. I'll be fine, I'll be fine, he told himself as he climbed over the boxes he needed to and hunkered down. Enough light came through the cracks of the train for him to not totally freak out, but he did not by any means feel comfortable.

 

After about twenty minutes, the discomfort had grown into a mild panic that he was trying his best to stave off. If this continued, Selim thought he'd go mad, and was just about to say so aloud when he heard the door open. Light flooded into the room, and he let out a small sigh of relief. Thankfully, the noise of the train covered it. The person picked his way through the cluttered compartment, approaching Selim's hiding place. Then he paused. Selim held his breath, scrunching down against the wall and put a hand over his mouth. Then he heard a jangle of keys, the door near him opened again, and then closed.

 

Selim forced himself to slowly count to twenty. When he hit nineteen, Marlin spoke up. “Alright, it's safe to come out now.”

 

Grateful, Selim stood up. He could not get out into the open fast enough.

 

“Alright,” Marlin said. “We have anywhere from fifteen to forty-five minutes before he comes back, so let's hurry. First of all, who is our last minute traveling companion?”

 

“Oh, I'm Mandy,” she said with a grin. “I'm more or less a wandering alchemist.”

 

“You want to collect the reward for bringing him back badly enough that you'd follow him all the way to Xing?” Marlin asked.

 

“How did you know that?”

 

Marlin thumbed over to Selim, who shrugged. He’d told them a bit about her before when they’d asked. Mandy glared at him for a moment before her smile returned and she looked back at Marlin. “Wandering Alchemists never really know when they'll be able to get their next pay check. You know?”

 

He nodded slightly. “True enough. My name is Marlin and this is Bonnie. Former bounty hunters.”

 

“Pleased to meet you.”

 

Marlin paused, raising an eyebrow at her.

 

“Alright, I was rather annoyed, but I can get along with whoever I need to get along with. Therefore I'm pleased to meet you.”

 

“You're the kind of person that never gets upset, aren't you,” Bonnie said, her voice dry.

 

“Well, I wouldn't say that,” Mandy replied with a smile.

 

“Anyway, let me go over what is going to happen. There is a turn towards the Xingese boarder, about fourteen or so miles from the first stop. That's where we need to get off.”

 

“In the middle of the desert?” Mandy asked unsurely.

 

Marlin nodded. “If we wait until after that, we risk too much of a chance at being caught. The station is almost directly on the boarder and there's at least one watchtower that we know of. It's a bit of a walk, but it's also out best chance. Fortunately, it's also the desert at a low altitude so we will have to worry more about sunburn and heat exhaustion than about winter cold.

 

“Right,” Mandy said with a sigh, then turned to glare at Selim. “You'd better have them triple my reward.”

 

“Hey, you didn't have to come,” he replied.

 

“If we can skip the banter please,” Bonnie muttered.

 

Marlin took out a compass and held it up. “We're going to walk far enough North that we shouldn't have a problem with any border patrols. The biggest problem after that will be getting the help we need. I don't suppose either one of you know Xingese.” Both Selim and Mandy shook their heads. “Then just stick to the idea that we need to keep up a pretense of dumb tourists. Avoid police if possible. Once we get there, we may split up. Depends on how much you get on Bonnie's nerves.”

 

The blond slapped his arm, but it was obvious she had no real harmful intent.

 

Marlin grinned at her teasingly before turning back to them. “If we all get into trouble, keep quiet and let Bonnie do the talking. She can talk herself out of just about anything.”

 

“That's why you were doing all the talking when it came to Falk,” Selim said.

 

Marlin and Bonnie both nodded.

 

“Falk?” Mandy asked.

 

“The sniper,” Selim said absently.

 

“You could see how dangerous he was too, huh,” Marlin asked.

 

Selim nodded. “Yes. I haven't felt that kind of malice since...” the black-haired man in his dream.

 

“Since?” Mandy asked.

 

“I guess...I never have really,” Selim muttered, scratching the back of his head and looking away.

 

“Anyway, we'll let you know when we're slowing down and when we'll jump,” Marlin said. “Until then, try to stay inside your hiding place and be as quiet as possible. If you snore, don't fall asleep. Well, that's all we have to say. Now, get back to your hiding places before our man returns. Once he leaves we have no idea when he'll come back so make sure you stay down and hidden.”

 

They all nodded and turned to their respective places. Selim couldn't help but pause and gulp as he looked back at his corner. He'd made his large enough to easily fit him and probably one or two other people (as long as they weren't Marlin's size) there too, but it didn't help. He still felt enclosed and trapped. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't so dark.

 

“Come on, Selim,” he muttered to himself. “You can do it.”

 

Reluctantly, he climbed over the boxes and baggage, then stood in his little space, unwilling to sit back down until he absolutely had to. When he remained standing, he didn't feel so trapped. It wasn't all that easy to actually stay upright with the movement of the car, but he managed for more than half an hour. Then the conductor came back. As soon as the door opened again, he gritted his teeth and ducked back down.

 

Just as before, the man walked through without pausing until he got to the other side and stepped out with a jangle of keys. Selim closed his eyes and imagined he was somewhere...anywhere else. It didn't work very well. In his ears, his heart thudded louder than the clacking of the train wheels.

 

He'd been working on keeping his breathing even for several minutes when he heard something above him and jumped. Someone was climbing over the baggage. His breath hitched in his throat and he tried to scrunch down more, although he knew it would do no good. Had the man heard his breathing and stayed?

 

“W-who's there?” he asked.

 

“It's me.”

 

“Mandy?” he felt himself relax for just a moment, then tensed up again. “Is something wrong?”

 

“No,” she said. “I heard you try to give yourself a pep talk earlier. You're trying not to utterly panic with this little space, aren't you?”

 

Selim sighed. “Is it that obvious?”

 

“Would it help if I sat there with you?”

 

“You don't have to treat me like a child,” Selim scowled.

 

“I'm not asking you as an adult to a child,” she responded. “I'm asking as a friend.”

 

Selim froze, blinking in the darkness. Friend? He'd only ever had Johan for a friend. No one else had ever really tried to be, much less called him one.

 

“I...guess there's enough room,” he muttered.

 

He could practically see the smile on her face, although he didn't hear her normal giggle. “Then move aside for a sec,” she said.

 

It took them a few minutes (and more than one awkward appendage to the other's eye or knee) to get situated so they could both sit comfortably, him on one side, her on the other. It made the space much smaller, but Selim had to admit it also felt much safer.

 

“Hey,” he said after a few minutes. “Thanks.”

 

She shook her head, although he could barely see the movement in the dark. “What are friends for?”

 

He grinned and relaxed against the wall and the chest next to him, feeling comfortable in the car for the first time.

 

xXx

 

It did get hot, rather fast. He knew Mandy had shed her coat and he took off his own as well as his hat and vest. Eventually all of his working with the shadows and the general atmosphere of travel caught up with him. Using the coat as a pillow, he allowed the heat to lull him off to sleep.

 

Selim opened his eye to find himself in a library he could have sworn he’d never seen before, despite the fact that it felt familiar. It seemed lavish and rich, but modest at the same time. There was a desk and chair off to one side, and a large, soft-looking, high-backed armchair fairly close to them, facing towards the center of the room. Otherwise there was a rug near the door and soft carpet covering the floor.

 

He was sitting on the floor by the chair. Standing up, he looked around, trying to figure out why it seemed so familiar. It wasn’t like the school library at all, nor was it like his mother’s cozy study.

 

Just as he started to take a step towards the door, it opened and a little boy came rushing in. He couldn’t have been more than 9.

 

“Big brother!” he said with a grin and ran to Selim, throwing his arms around his waist. “I knew I’d find you here!”

 

To say he was surprised would be a horrible understatement. He’d never had any siblings.

 

“I...” he started, unsure of what to say. Then he smiled and knelt down. “Hi. Could you tell me your name?”

 

The boy giggled. “You know my name! It’s the same as yours!”

 

Selim blinked. “It’s Selim?”

 

“Of course!” the boy grinned.

 

Strange, Selim thought. He didn’t like this but he couldn’t place why. Something seemed…off. The fact that he couldn’t pin point why really bothered him more than he suspected the actual root of the problem would.

 

“Right,” Selim said, forcing a smile. “Where’s um…our mom?”

 

“Downstairs with Dad,” little Selim grinned. “He came home early just to see her!”

 

“Oh.” Why did this all seem so familiar?

 

“Because it happened to you,” little Selim said. Selim started, looking down at the younger boy who looked so much like him. “You don’t want to remember, but it all still happened.”

 

“Remember?” Selim asked unsurely. “Remember what? Why should I remember any of this?”

 

“You won’t, because you’re weak.”

 

Okay, that was a little too creepy for a kid to say. “That isn’t true,” Selim replied.

 

The boy shrugged. “It’s because you’re just like them.”

 

“Just like who?” This was really starting to make him uneasy.

 

“The humans,” the child said as if stating the obvious. “The poor, weak, pathetic humans. They’re all going to die and serve Father’s plan.” How could he say that with that brilliant smile? And was it just him, or had the boy’s eye-color changed? Where before it had been a dark brown, now the irises looked…was that purple?

 

“F-father?” Selim asked, baking away. Why did this child frighten him so?

 

“Not the one downstairs. That’s all fake, although not as fabricated as the life you live now.” The smile had vanished, replaced by a cold glare as he advanced slowly towards Selim. “It’s utterly disgusting how you fancy yourself to be one of them. Revolting, really. The scum.”

 

Why did he know these words?!

 

Selim’s eyes suddenly flew wide. The voice. The one that only he seemed to be able to hear.

 

“You!” he said.

 

Little Selim grinned cruelly. “You finally figured it out? So pathetic. It seems ‘stupid’ really is contagious.”

 

The older teen suddenly realized that he’d been backing away and stopped, fists clenching.

 

“Who are you, and what do you want,” he asked.

 

A wave of amusement and superiority washed over him, and somehow he knew it came from this child...this thing. “Your Pride.”

 

“What?”

 

“And I hate it.”

 

“Hate what?”

 

“Being weaker than you!” the child's lip curled in utter disgust for a second, but then he looked back at Selim, face neutral. The older boy now stood firmly, glaring at the younger.

 

“Maybe I’m not as weak as you think I am.”

 

The smaller boy laughed as if to humor a child who had tried to make a joke. “You are. But don’t worry, you won’t be around for long.” Something jerked Selim’s legs out from under him and he yelped, falling backwards and flailing. He didn’t know how the younger boy had moved so quickly, but he somehow stood above Selim, glaring down condescendingly. “ I’ll end your miserable existence…and then I’ll end theirs.”

 

And that suddenly, he wasn’t in the library anymore, he was falling down, racing face-first towards a ground that he couldn't see.

 

“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!” he yelled, willing something to save him. The shadows reached out and grabbed him in mid-air, pulling him back—

“WHOA!” Selim yelped as his entire body lurching backwards brought him out of the nightmare. Beside him, Mandy flailed madly as she also slammed against the wall of baggage. Brain still thick with sleep, he forced it to work and assess the situation. What had happened? The train was stopping? So suddenly? He blinked and glanced over at Mandy. She seemed just as confused as he did.

 

“Get out!” he heard Bonnie yell. “You’ll be crush—“

 

The baggage car jarred suddenly forward, cutting her off as it crashed into the car in front of it. Beside him, Mandy screamed at the impact. He also let out a yell as they both made contact with the wall and some of the smaller boxes rained down on top of them. Then he felt the world tilt, and suddenly realized what Bonnie had been talking about. The baggage they’d used to hide behind would crush them when the car fell on its side.

 

Apparently Mandy realized it too for as the car fell, he heard her terrified gasp. Not knowing what else to do, Selim grabbed her and called the shadows.

 

The world twirled, tilted and bounced as it slid down into the desert sand outside.

[Obi-quiet]

With a mighty crash, the car fell over, spilling heavy bags, packages and boxes onto Selim's make-shift shield. After what seemed like forever, they came to rest and silence fell. Selim and Mandy sat there, breathing in the darkness, as if waiting to confirm that nothing more would happen. After the turbulence of the last few minutes, it felt as if the whole Earth had come to a complete, silent and eerie stand still.

 

"Selim?" Mandy asked, breaking the quiet.

 

"Yes," he croaked. "I'm here. Are you alright?"

 

"Yeah," she muttered, sitting up and hitting her head on his shield. "Oof!" He found himself surprised that he could feel the slight change in pressure when she did. It only seemed to add onto the incredible weight that had fallen on their protection, and brought the realization of how close said protection was from vanishing.

 

"Crawl out," Selim said.

 

"Huh?" she asked.

 

"It's getting…hard to hold the…shield. Crawl out. Hurry!" It was draining him somehow. He could feel it, even if he didn't know how to describe it. It almost seemed as if he were using his own spirit—his soul to power it, and he could not keep it up for long.

 

He made a hole in the shield, in an area where there wasn't much weight. "Over there…" he grunted.

 

She couldn't see him, but she must have noticed the hole appearing somehow, because she immediately leapt towards it and pushed herself out.

 

"What about you?" she asked.

 

"I'm…coming…"

 

He turned onto his stomach and, with no small amount of effort, pushed himself up on his hands and knees. Crawling had never been so difficult. When he reached the gap and put his hands up, he couldn't help but feel relief as Mandy grabbed his arms and pulled. The moment he stood, he allowed the shield to collapse below them.

 

Mandy eeped as she dropped from atop the shield to the ground and shot him a dirty look. At least he assumed it was dirty. He still couldn't see very well in the dark.

 

"You two," Marlin asked, crawling over and holding his arm. Selim winced at its awkward angle it stuck out at. "Are you alright?"

 

"Yes," Selim responded tiredly.

 

The man shook his head. "Then you must have the Devil's luck because any normal person would have been killed." Selim flinched at his wording. He certainly was not normal, and he hoped he wasn't some sort of devil.

 

"Bonnie?" he called, turning towards her corner.

 

"I'm here," she muttered from the darkness somewhere. "And I'm fine. Now we need to find a way out of here. I'm going to try the door on this side. Marlin, you get that side."

 

"Yes ma'am," Marlin replied, sounding more amused than chastised or hurt at her abrupt manner.

 

"Don't you start with me," she replied, but some of the tension had eased from her voice. Selim and Mandy glanced between them, realizing they had missed something. "Just get to the door," Bonnie muttered, already picking her way over the baggage from the sliding and grunting. Selim suddenly realized how lucky they'd been to have the car fall on his and Mandy's side. If not, they may have been the only two survivors in the car. Marlin and Bonnie didn't have shadows to protect them.

 

"Mandy," Marlin whispered. "Why don't you go help Bonnie. Selim and I will work on this door."

 

Selim heard Mandy sigh at the prospect of climbing all the way over to the other end, but she didn't complain. Later Selim would look back and realize just how shaken up she must have been to not say anything.

 

"Alright, let's see if we can open that door," Marlin muttered to Selim.

 

It proved to be a matter of being able to climb on top of the mounds of luggage and then getting whatever had fallen next to the door away from it. Then they had to break the door down as it had been locked. Not fifteen minutes later, Selim let out a relieved sigh as they finally managed to break through the wood and warm sunlight came streaming in.

 

It was only about a foot and a half drop to the warm sand outside, and Selim scurried out as quickly as he could. A warm breeze brushed roughly over his body and the landscape looked harsh and desolate as far as the eye could see, but Selim didn't think he could ever feel more at ease in such a situation. The idea of an area so open and light brought a smile to his lips. He could be very happy living here; if he could somehow manage to find water and/or food, of course.

 

"Come on," Marlin said. Selim glanced over his shoulder to see the man who had spoken had turned back to apparently help Mandy and Bonnie, who were both trying to crawl over the luggage safely. "Once we get out, we can just mingle in with the other survivors. With luck, no one will ask for our papers, and if they do we can just tell them they got lost. This may be the best thing that could happen for us."

 

"How can you say that?" Selim heard Mandy say, her voice unusually quiet. "We don't even know how many people got hurt."

 

"I never said I wanted it to happen," Marlin retorted. "But we can take advantage."

 

Intending to try and see what had happened, Selim walked out from the gap between the cars to survey the scene. Only the back few cars in the train had derailed at all, with the last five or six being the ones to topple over. Far ahead, he could see the smoking engine car with the steam and soot that shot from it blackening the blue sky around it. The passengers had been ushered off of the train, probably by the conductors and security men stationed in the front of the car.

 

With that thought, Selim's head snapped back to the caboose. It lay on its side just as the baggage car did, and it didn't seem like anyone had come out yet. The conductors, he thought. It hit him that he didn't feel particularly worried but more morbidly curious. That thought did worry him a little.

 

"Hey," he yelled out as he came up to the red car lying on its side in the sand. Some of the metal on back had been bent out of place. Selim dismissed it. He'd heard what train crashes could do to metal. "Hey," he called again as he made his way to the back, "Are you guys alright? Hello?" Finally making it to the rear-facing door, he grabbed the handle and started yanking. "Hey!" Okay, now he was beginning to feel a tad worried.

 

It took a few tries, and when he finally managed to open it the door almost came off in his hands. Selim only spared it one thought before turning to peek inside the comparatively dim interior. The two conductors lay on what would have normally passed for the windows of the car. The glass below them had been pressed into the sand and surprisingly, had not broken. Their two bodies sprawled amidst what was left of a tea set as well as several clip boards and papers. Thankfully, the small table and other furniture in the room had been nailed to the floor, probably in case of just this kind of occasion.

 

"Hey," Selim said again, not liking the still atmosphere. At his voice, one of the men moved, groaning as he went to sit up. Selim hurried to him first, struggling over the tables and desks that had been fixed to the walls. "Are you alright?"

 

"Dunno," the man muttered, looking blearily up at Selim. "Who're you?"

 

"A...passenger on the train," Selim replied, hoping his lie didn't sound too false. Either because he was too tired or too injured, the man accepted the explanation and started to sit up.

 

"Where's Dein?"

 

"Dein?" Selim asked. "You mean, the other guy here?"

 

The conductor looked over at his comrade lying still on the glass and swore aloud. "Dein! Dein!"

 

"You should probably keep still," Selim pointed out, but the man would have none of it.

 

"Dein," the man repeated, ignoring Selim as he hurried over the other man who didn't respond. Then he looked back at Selim. "What happened?"

 

Selim shook his head. "We don't know. The train just jerked to a stop..."

 

"The shadows..." the man on the ground said, his voice thick with pain. Selim's blood froze at his words.

 

"W-what?" he asked.

 

The first conductor had turned his attention back to his coworker. "Dein! Are you alright?"

 

"I dunno, Terry," he muttered as he tried to prop himself up on his elbows. Then he looked up at Selim. "To answer your question, I saw two black...things come out of the shadows of the train. It was like they tied the train to the tracks. That's what stopped the train. I've never seen anything move that fast..."

 

Every word drained more blood from Selim's face. By the time the man was done explaining, the boy felt faint. It was too much of a coincidence, but why would his powers act up like that? It made no—

 

The dream! Selim realized. He'd been falling and wanted something to stop him. That must have translated to real life too. Could he do that? Apparently, but it had never happened before as far as he knew.

 

This was what he'd been afraid of. If that wasn't a loss of control, he didn't know what was. This added a whole new level of danger to his situation. With his nightmares, he'd be a threat to anyone near him when he slept now. A cold knot of ice began to form in his stomach.

 

"Shadows?" Terry asked. "You must have hit your head pretty hard there, buddy," the first conductor was saying to his coworker, obviously relieved that his coworker was speaking in coherent sentences. "But I'll take that. We're both lucky we're not dead."

It's all my fault... The thought dashed through Selim's mind like a razor.

 

"You didn't see them?" Dein, asked incredulously, looking up at Terry. "It was like two monstrous black hands reached up and tried to stop us from moving!"

 

Even with a possible concussion Selim could see Terry's skeptical look. Apparently Dein caught it too. "Terry, I'm telling you, that's what I saw!" he protested.

 

The second man sighed. "Whatever you say. Let's go and see what other damage has been done. I'm sure boss will want us to help."

 

Damage... Selim's eyes went wide and he suddenly felt sick. What if other people had been hurt because of him? Before the conductors could say anything else, Selim turned and launched himself back outside and into the scorching sun.

 

The sand did not make running easy, but he ignored it and pushed his legs harder. Marlin was just helping Bonnie down next to Mandy when he reached them.

 

"Selim, there you are," Mandy said, turning to him. "Where-"

 

"I'm going to go and check to see if anyone else was injured," he interrupted.

 

"Hey," the dark-haired girl started as Selim turned and ran on. "Wait for us!" He didn't.

 

Between the sand, the heat, the passengers standing in scattered clumps and the actual length of the train, it took him several minutes to approach the engine; it felt more like hours. The smoke he'd seen earlier had begun to settle as a light fog down around the front of the train as people yelled and ran about. A broken ring of curious people watched with more than a little anticipation several yards away.

 

"What happened?" Selim asked one of the bystanders once he reached a clump.

 

The man he'd addressed looked down at him, studied him for a moment, than shrugged as if to say "why not?"

 

"When the train stopped, they didn't. Kept pushing ahead—something about getting away from a monster. It must have been a mirage. Anyway, because they were dragging cars in the sand..." the man shook his head. "It was just too much for the old engine."

 

"How...do you know...all this?" Mandy asked, stumbling up to them and breathing hard. She placed a hand on Selim's shoulder for support as she took deep breaths.

 

"One of the conductors told us a few minutes ago. Wanted us to stand back while they tried to rescue some guy trapped in there. One of the workers I think. I don't think engines can explode, but the guy could be burned pretty bad if they don't get him away from all that heat."

 

Because of me... Selim thought.

 

A dark laugh echoed in the back of his mind. With some effort, he ignored it. Then he shot a look at Mandy and took off towards the conductors and train workers as they ran about and yelled at each other.

 

"Selim!" Mandy called. Several other people cried out after him as well, but he ignored them. No one would die because of him. Not today.

 

"Hey!" a large hand on his shoulder jerked him to a stop suddenly. "What are you doing here? Stay back!"

 

Selim followed the arm up with his eyes to a man large enough to give Marlin a run for his money, except far more muscular. Selim swallowed and shoved away the intimidation he felt. "I can help!" He burst out.

 

"We'll handle it," the man said, shaking his head. "Go back and stay safe."

 

"But-" Selim started, but a voice behind them cut him off.

 

"We're alchemists," Mandy gasped, running (more like stumbling really) up to them, face red from running and the heat. "Show us...where the man...is trapped...and we can...help."

 

The large man's frown deepened. "We can't let a bunch of kids in."

 

"We're older...than we look," Many growled, still struggling to catch her breath. "And last I heard…alchemy wasn't limited by age."

 

"Jeff!" a new voice called out. The man holding Selim looked up sharply.

 

"Sir!"

 

"It's jammed tight!" the new voice continued. It belonged to an older man with a gray mustache. He'd taken off the coat of his uniform (as had many others) and was covered in smudges. He seemed to be the person in charge of the train, the head conductor or driver or whatever his title was. Selim couldn't remember and didn't particularly care at the moment.

 

The man went on, addressing 'Jeff'. "Stupid new design. Lee's still trapped. We couldn't budge the stupid scrap of metal, but the whole thing's about to blow! Go tell the passengers to get as far away as they can!" With that, the leader began towards the onlookers.

 

"Sir!" Jeff said again, turning to drag Selim off, but his hand had loosened a touch and it wasn't difficult for Selim to yank himself out of his grasp. "Oi!" the man protested. Selim ignored him, pushing through the sand towards the source of the smoke.

 

"Selim!" Mandy shouted again, sounding exasperated. He turned around, running backwards (no easy feat with the local terrain).

 

"I can handle myself! Transmute a wall to protect everyone!"

 

Mandy looked about ready to kill him. "But-" she started, but Selim cut her off.

 

"No! No sense of putting both of us in danger. Go! I'll be fine!"

 

"You'd better be!" the dark haired girl screamed after him before turning and heading back towards the people.

 

"You're gonna go with her!" Jeff growled, swiping for Selim, who ducked easily.

 

"I can help!" he insisted, staying ahead of the man.

 

"You're gonna die!" the large man rebutted. He tried to catch up to the teenager, but his size and weight made him much slower than Selim. He pushed himself to stay ahead of the man, eyes intent on the black engine car ahead of him.

 

Most of the other men staffed on the train had abandoned the blackened vehicle, and as Selim approached, he could feel why. The heat went from 'sweltering' to 'nuclear'.

 

"Are you crazy?" The head conductor's voice said from behind him. Selim paused and glanced around. The older man came huffing up to him. A ways back, Selim saw Jeff's retreating figure. Apparently the head conductor had decided to chase Selim instead. He'd probably ordered Jeff to go back while he got the crazy kid who'd thrown himself into danger. "We have to get out of here!"

 

"I'm an alchemist," Selim blurted. "Show me where the guy is trapped and I can save him!"

 

The conductor regarded him skeptically for a moment before glancing uneasily at the train. It took him a few seconds to come to a decision, and he nodded curtly. "This way. Don't touch anything or it'll burn you." He led Selim up a small set of stairs and into the heart of the heat.

 

"How did it get so hot?" Selim gasped. Wasn't it supposed to be an oven of sorts for the coal to burn? But they had regulators, so what had happened?

 

"It's essentially a new engine design they put in an old car," the man explained, obviously dumbing it down for Selim (who rolled his eyes, but didn't comment as they didn't have time). "With all the jerking that happened just now, we found out some of the equipment wasn't secured like it should be. Here!"

 

Coal had scattered over the floor of the tiny chamber ahead of them. It looked as if half the room had collapsed. Bent and blackened scraps of metal lay everywhere, both in sheets and what looked like beams. Selim didn't even know they had beams like that aboard trains. Maybe it was a Xingese design?

 

"This is what happens when we keep pushing forward with half the train dragging in the sand," the conductor muttered as he skirted some debris. "He's over here!"

 

Trying not to touch anything with his bare skin, Selim followed the conductor as best he could, and found a man pinned to the wall with several pieces of metal, cut up and unconscious. Selim could still make out his Xingese features, despite the flushed cheeks and otherwise reddening complexion, especially where his skin lay against metal. They'd probably have to worry about heat stroke if they actually got him out of here.

 

"The metal's jammed into the wall," the conductor pointed out. "That's why we couldn't move it. You can transmute it though, right?"

 

Selim blinked. He'd been planning on cutting through it, but he had expectations to live up to. Alchemists usually tended to be rather showy.

 

Too bad, he thought to himself. He didn't have time for showy. "No, it will take too long," he replied. "I've got a faster way." Concentrating, he reached into his shadow. He didn't want to show the man his shadows (and since when did they become his?), but felt he had little choice.

 

Once he felt he had a good hold on the darkness, he raised his hand and took a steadying breath of heated air. He had to do this carefully. If he didn't keep a firm control he could end up decapitating the unconscious man. Then he cut his hand sharply through the air. The shadow copied his motion, shooting away from his feet. They sliced through the metal like a warm knife through butter.

 

Behind him he heard the conductor gasp, but ignored him as he rushed forward. He'd left his coat in the box car when the luggage had fallen on them, so he didn't have much more than his shirt to protect him. Steeling himself against the pain, he leaned in to grab the metal, but a gloved hand caught him and drew him back.

 

"I'll get him. You get out of here!"

 

"I'm not leaving until he does!" Selim replied. He could tell the conductor was about to keel over from the heat. He couldn't, in good conscience, leave them now.

 

The conductor didn't look happy, but he also didn't argue the point. After a moment, he turned and began to grab the metal and yank it away from the man. It only took a minute to clear the metal away to a point where they could drag the man away, but with the increasing heat and pressure, it felt more like an eternity.

 

"Let's go!" the head conductor yelled at Selim as he slung the man's red arm around his neck. Nodding, Selim lead the way out and into the comparatively cooler air of the desert. After a few steps, he turned back to see the red-faced conductor gasping for breath as he struggled through the sand. Now that they had room, Selim could help. Running back to them, he threw the man's other arm over his shoulders.

 

A good half-mile away he could see what looked like a large, stone wall and people running towards it. It didn't look like sandstone. Selim grinned. That had to be Mandy's handiwork. Apparently the head conductor saw it too as he immediately started for it.

 

Of course, they weren't that lucky. They'd barely made it a quarter of the way when the engine exploded. Selim tried to throw up a shadow, but it seemed sluggish; less responsive for some reason. His efforts weren't enough to stop the wave of energy from throwing them into the sand. He still tried to maintain his shield of shadows, managing to deflect a lot of the debris that had been thrown in their direction.

 

Beside him the head conductor started shouting profanities, but Selim tuned him out, focusing more on keeping them safe. The debris began to rain down from above and Selim moved the shield to shade them.

 

"What is that?" the conductor asked.

 

"Alchemy," Selim returned.

 

"Doesn't look like any alchemy I've ever seen."

 

He didn't answer. A few seconds later, it stopped raining coal and Selim let the shield fall. "Come on," he muttered. He'd already been tired when he'd taken his little nap earlier. He didn't know how long he'd slept on their way into the desert (judging by the sun's position, a few hours), but it hadn't felt like more than a few minutes to him. Then, on top of that, he'd used his power even more recently, not to mention the heat and the physical exertion. He suddenly began to realize just how other people felt when they strained their bodies. It was a new and rather unwelcome experience for him.

 

He was beginning to feel light headed by the time people from behind the wall had come out to help them.

 

"Sir!"

 

"Sir, are you alright?"

 

"What happened?"

 

"Here's some water, sir."

 

People began to talk to them, but Selim barely had enough presence of mind to realize someone had relieved him and the head conductor of their burden. Someone thrust a canteen of some sort into his hand and he downed it gratefully.

 

"Selim?" Mandy's voice came from somewhere in front of him. "Are you okay?"

 

Ah, so that vague blur was her.

 

"Need to lie down," he muttered.

 

"Sure," she said, taking him by the hand and leading him to the shade behind the stone wall. "You rest here. I'll take care of everything else."

 

He nodded and sat in the sand, then plopped back onto the ground. It was surprisingly comfortable. He heard her turn to leave.

 

"Wait," he muttered.

 

"What?" she asked. Why did she sound so far away?

 

"Dangerous when I sleep. No one come near."

 

She didn't answer for a moment. Finally, she nodded. "Alright."

 

He nodded and closed his eyes. Before she'd taken three steps, he'd nodded off.

 

xXx

 

Another shout out to my awesome beta-readers and friends. Oh, and I'm going to be getting up links to how the different characters look. For now, I just have an older Selim.

[Obi-quiet]

Three chapters and not one response. Hmm...didn't think it was that bad. Ah well, I'm mainly writing this for myself, so I shall continue!

 

xXx

 

Chapter 10

 

He was getting tired of these dreams. So much so, that he almost wanted his old nightmares back.

 

"Leave me alone," he muttered sullenly to the vortex around him. A laugh met his words and he sighed. The owner of that laugh wouldn't comply. He didn't care to even listen.

 

He could feel the boy's awareness of him, but neither really wanted to converse at the moment. Selim couldn't help but feel relieved. The boy frightened him, and he'd dreaded their seemingly inevitable meeting again. Fortunately, it did not seem like now would be that time. Selim had been sitting in the crimson vortex for what felt like forever and no one had appeared to him. The boy just continued to watch from somewhere beyond Selim's conscious perception.

 

Selim hated how he could know that..how he could feel the vague nonchalance that really only masked impatience and the anticipatory excitement that roiled beneath both. The teenager's frown deepened. He could feel something building, and he wasn't sure what or how, but he knew once it was released, the consequences would not be pleasant.

 

He just wished the sensation wasn't so vague.

 

In any case, he had long since moved past wary and frightened, only to sit inside this dream-like state and become more and more frustrated. Finally, he spoke, unwilling to tolerate the silence for long.

 

"Why can't you just go away?" he asked the red haze, not really expecting the boy to answer, although he knew the boy knew Selim had addressed him.

 

"Why can't you?"

 

To his surprise, the answering question seemed to ooze around him, weaving its way through the endless scarlet current. Selim's frown turned into a glower. "Because I'm here now. Why should I just leave?"

 

"Because you're weak."

 

"I'm stronger than you," he responded without really thinking and blinked at his own answer. He was stronger, Selim realized. He didn't really know how, but somehow he knew he was currently stronger than the voice.

 

"Not for long." The absolute certainty in those words caused him to shudder.

 

After a moment, Selim shook his head. "Alright, we're both here and we both want to be stronger. Isn't there some way for us to coexist?"

 

The voice paused for a moment. "Could you ever hate humans as a whole?"

 

"No."

 

"Then the answer to your question is 'no'. There is no way to coexist with one who takes pity on lower life forms." He sounded so nonchalant when he said it, as if he were stating a simple fact.

 

Selim set his jaw determinedly. "I won't give up without a fight."

 

The other voice sneered. "I wouldn't expect you to. You and I are the same after all." Somehow that made Selim sick, and he didn't want to explore why. The boy continued. "It doesn't matter. You'll still lose."

 

"We'll see about that," Selim retorted. The voice didn't answer.

 

xXx

 

A grumbling in his stomach area brought him slowly back to consciousness. It took him a moment to realize how comfortable he felt. He'd expected dry air and oppressing heat, but while he did feel warm, the sensation was not uncomfortable. Actually, the air he breathed felt almost cool. As a matter of fact, he felt as if he were sleeping on a cloud instead of on sand; or at least a bed--a very, very nice, unfamiliar bed.

 

The last vague memories of what had happened before he'd practically collapsed continued to return to him, and none of it matched up with what his body was telling him now. Maybe Mandy had transmuted him something?

 

Frowning, he went to open his eyes. It felt as if all the sand missing from below his head had found its way below his eyelids, and they did not want to move. Groaning, he put his effort into forcing them open. He succeeded in gaining a sliver of light that forced him to snap his eyes shut again.

 

The light hurt.

 

Dang, what had hit him? His sleep-muddled mind couldn't seem to figure out exactly why he felt like he'd been run over by a train. He twisted under the blankets and brought a leaden hand up to rub his eyes. It felt like he'd put his body through the workout of a lifetime and then plunged himself into water. His limbs just didn't want to move.

 

He really wanted to just go back to sleep, but knew his mind wouldn't let him in the unfamiliar environment. That and his stomach continued to growl incessantly, often accompanying dull aches that stabbed through his stomach. He was ravenous. As a matter of fact, he hadn't been that hungry in...well, he couldn't really remember ever being that hungry actually.

 

Sighing, he forced his eyes open again, shielding them with his hand. It still hurt, but the sensation became far more manageable this time, probably because he was expecting it and had braced himself for it.

 

The first thing he noticed was that he hadn't been laid on an actual bed, but on the floor. His vantage point of the rather plain room told him that much. Looking down, he saw a rich futon covered in a very smooth material. Silk? Probably not, but it felt just about as soft. The second thing he noticed was that he was alone. Normally this would not have been a problem, but he really wanted some answers.

 

The third thing he noticed was the unsettling feeling that had knotted inside of his chest. The closest description he could think of to describe it was something akin to an uprooted tree that hadn't been transplanted yet. He felt completely out of his element. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, but seemed somehow liberating at the same time.

 

He managed to push himself into a kneeling position and sat back as he raised a hand to rub at his scar out of habit. A shock rushed through his hands as soon as he touched it and he jumped, jerking his hand back. Blinking, he studied his tingling fingers. That was weird. Static electricity maybe? Slowly he put his fingers back on his forehead. It felt tender, but otherwise just like normal.

 

He dismissed the strange phenomenon and went to run a hand through his hair, only to realize that he hardly had any growth on his head.

 

"What the--!" he started, raising his other hand to run it over his scalp. Someone had cut his hair while he slept! Oh, he had something to say about that! It took him forever to grow his hair out to a decent length because it grew so slowly. He hated the idea of having anything resembling a military cut.

 

Grumbling he went to stand up and noticed he'd been dressed in a robe of sorts. A blush rose to his cheeks when he realized he had most definitely not put that on himself. He didn't see any clothes, wardrobes or closets in the room so it would have to do, but that didn't erase the fact that he didn't like it.

 

Still, uncomfortable or not, he was going to leave the room behind and demand answers from the next person he saw. Unsteady though he was, he managed to make it to the sliding door, hand-eye coordination improving as he continued to force his body to follow his mental instructions. The aching pain had begun to ease too, much to his relief.

 

It took more effort than he cared to admit to get the rather light door to slide open. He glared menacingly at it for a moment before going to step forward. Then he froze. The room he found couldn't have been more different from the little sleeping area he'd just left. Where the previous room had been plain and undecorated, this new room was lavish. At least three matching wardrobes had been placed next to what looked like a deep, walk-in closet. Even though he couldn't see the back of it, he could still see racks of clothing hanging from railings on the side. They looked foreign. Probably Xingese, he concluded as that's where they'd been heading before the incident with the train.

 

Pushing that to the back of his mind, he continued to study the room, mostly out of surprise; nothing in the room seemed inexpensive or of poor quality. He hadn't known what to expect upon exiting the sleeping chamber from before, but this was not it. A large basin and pitcher, both full of water, had been placed on a stand next to the door he'd just walked out of. A little way further he could see a tub full of steaming water behind what looked to be a sort of portable, folding wall he'd never seen before, probably set up for privacy.

 

In the other corner of the room, across from both the tub and the closet, a sitting area full of cushions had been arranged next to two or three wooden chairs and a table. The area had a distinctly western feel to it, despite the obvious eastern influence.

 

The rest of the room had ornate tapestries hanging from the walls, each showing various landscapes or scenes of men fighting and women with some of the most elaborate hairdos and clothing he'd ever seen hiding behind fans, or their sleeves. Vases sat on tables or floors in every corner of the room and on the side of the door in the wall opposite from Selim's current position. They looked intricate enough that he didn't even want to go near them for fear of breaking them.

 

All in all, it looked like a room from an enormous mansion more than anything else he'd ever seen, and he kept realizing over and over again how expense had not been spared. He had never really wanted for anything much as a child as his mother had been fairly well off. He rubbed shoulders with the wealthy of Amestris on a fairly regular basis, but this was still far more than anything he'd ever been subject to before.

 

It was a little overwhelming. He still had no idea how he could have come into such a situation while he'd slept.

 

"What is going on?" he asked aloud, not bothering to hide his shock. Then he glanced around uneasily and began to make his way to the door that would lead him outside. It was a sliding one similar to the door he'd opened before, and took considerably less effort to open due to his returning strength. No sooner had it been fully opened, than a Xingese man in a rich, black robe and matching hat stepped before him, bowing with one hand over his fist raised to his eye level.

 

"Honored guest," he said with an obvious accent. "It pleases all of Xing that you have finally awoken. My name is Xhou and I am to serve you." He spoke very good English, despite his accent. Selim blinked at him, unable to formulate a response due to even more surprise. The man took this as a bad sign as he bowed even lower. "Forgive me for not attending to you earlier. I was instructed to wait out here until your awakening."

 

"N-no," Selim said hurriedly. "That's fine. I...just don't know what's going on."

 

"Of course!" Xhou replied, still unmoving from his humble position. "Forgive me, good sir. When the train from Amestris did not arrive, the emperor sent out a convoy. We found what was left of the train in the middle of the Pi Shi desert." Selim frowned. Pi Shi? He hadn't heard that name for the large desert that separated Amestris from Xing before. Xhou either didn't notice his confusion, or he dismissed it and continued.

 

"When the entourage found your party, they were told of your exploits to save the train workers. Your comrades were worried over you because you would not wake. They feared you had severe damage from your rescue efforts.

 

"You, along with the rest of the travelers from the train, were then brought to Xing for treatment. When the Emperor heard of your brave deeds, he insisted you and your friend be brought to the palace as his honored guests."

 

For several seconds Selim didn't answer as his mind processed this information. Finally he managed to force out an 'oh.'

 

After several more seconds, Selim began to fidget. The man still hadn't moved. "Why do you keep standing like that?" he asked.

 

"You have not given me permission to rise, good sir."

 

"Oh...uh, please rise?"

 

The man stood straight, arms coming to rest in front of him, still griping each other loosely. He had typical Xingese features, dark hair over dark, almond-shaped eyes and pale skin set into a round face.

 

"The Emperor has requested that he meet you personally so as to honor your actions."

 

Selim blinked again, face going pale. "He what?!" He'd never dreamed of meeting The Emperor before.

 

"On the Emperor's request, we have prepared everything you would need to clean and clothe yourself so you can present yourself to him properly at your earliest convenience."

 

"Clean and clothe..." Selim repeated dumbly. It took a moment for the man's words to sink in. Then he hesitantly glanced back over his shoulder at the room.

 

"I am here to assist in any way I can," Xhou continued.

 

"W-where's Mandy?" he asked, suddenly wishing for a familiar face.

 

"Your friend requested to use the...uh, you say tell-phone? She will return shortly."

 

Communications? Selim cocked his head, troubled. Who did Mandy have to contact? Her father? Then again, it wasn't like her life was any of his business. Maybe she had to meet someone else and had thrown that off to chase after him. That sounded a little more logical. The thought also succeeded in making him feel a bit guilty.

 

"If you would please, we have provided a bath for you," the man urged.

 

"Oh, right. I saw," Selim muttered and stepped aside, gesturing for the man to come in. "Uh, how long have I been asleep?"

 

Correctly interoperating his gesture, Xhou walked inside and slid the door shut before turning to Selim and bowing again. "I believe two days, sir."

 

"Really?" he asked, more than a little surprised. That seemed to happen a lot lately. "No wonder I'm so hungry."

 

"I will have something brought to you immediately," Xhou replied. "You may eat before you see his Excellency, the Emperor."

 

"Oh," Selim managed to reply, annoyed at how this man seemed to be able to keep him so off balance. "Thank you."

 

"Meanwhile, please make use of the bath. It has been scented and oiled. To wash your hair, you may make use of the basin near the tub."

 

"Right," Selim responded, hating how childish he sounded.

 

With that, the servant turned and left Selim alone. Untying the sash around his waist, the teenager decided to get into (and hopefully out of) the bath now, before Xhou returned with his dinner. Honor or not, he didn't want anyone--even a servant--around while he bathed.

 

xXx

 

Selim had to say he felt extremely content at the moment. Xhou had brought trays upon trays of food for Selim to choose from and then proceeded to watch in amazement as Selim cleaned each of the trays off. No normal person could have ever kept up with it, but then again, Selim's appetite had never been exactly normal. After five trays and about fifty different dishes, Selim finally informed him that he was sufficiently full. He'd like to say he'd stuffed himself silly, but he'd never been able to say that, and now was no exception. Still, it felt good to have food inside of him again.

 

So he was walking behind Xhou as the servant lead him to meet with the Emperor, trying not to trip over the expensive Xingese robes he wore, or dislodge the hat the servant had insisted Selim would need to keep himself presentable. Unfortunately, it sat atop of Selim's head and did nothing to hide his scar. Still, he really couldn't bring himself to be too disgruntled with the excellent treatment.

 

He finally felt like himself again, not the half-dead corpse who could relate more to a zombie than a living being that he'd been when he'd awoken earlier.

 

Now he glanced around at the décor, noting the old looking, well-kept carvings and lush decorations that resembled those he'd seen in his room. They had passed many people on their way to greet the emperor, and many of them had bowed to him in thanks. Selim would have reveled in the swell of pride he had if he hadn't known that the whole ordeal with the train had been his fault to begin with.

 

Still, they didn't need to know that. Not that he knew how to explain it anyway. Apparently, the man (Lee, who had been Xingese after all) had been the only casualty, and he was predicted to make a full recovery. That was all Xhou would tell him, insisting that the Emperor would tell him everything else.

 

Finally, they stopped in front of two extremely large doors and Xhou turned to him. "Please follow my instructions carefully, as otherwise you may embarrass and offend the Emperor. When we enter, bow. Keep your head down and do not look up until he says to." Selim raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He was grateful the hat had a strap tied under his chin. Xhou didn't have one on his, but somehow managed to keep it from falling off. Selim suspected pins of some sort and found himself even more grateful for the strap. He didn't fancy the idea of pins in his hair. It reminded him of his mother.

 

"When we approach the Emperor, kneel, and keep your hands in sight and in front of you. This will show your respect to him. Do not speak unless spoke to, and please try to refrain from making any rude gestures or noises."

 

Selim's eyes widened. "Do you get that often?"

 

The man shook his head. "Once is too often. That particular incident almost resulted in a war."

 

Suddenly Selim felt butterflies begin to stir in his stomach. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

 

"If you do not offend him, you will bring great honor upon your family and possibly a reward."

 

"What kind of reward?" Selim asked, taken aback. He hadn't done anything for a reward.

 

"It depends on the Emperor's mood."

 

Oh yes, he thought to himself. How utterly reassuring.

 

"Now the Emperor is very busy. This will be only a short meeting. Once he dismisses you, back away. Do not turn your back to him. Do you understand?"

 

Selim nodded and gulped. "Yes."

 

"Excellent. Now wait here while I announce you." He knocked on the door and slipped through the crack that opened afterwards, leaving a rather uncomfortable teenager in his wake. It probably only took minutes but it felt much longer to Selim.

 

Finally, Xhou backed out of the room (looking rather foolish in Selim's opinion) and turned to him. "Follow me, please."

 

Selim took a deep breath and did as he was told, bowing and keeping his head to the ground. Ahead, he saw the bottom of Xhou's robes, and followed him into what had to be the largest room Selim had ever seen--and he couldn't even look up. He turned his head from side to side, awestruck at the sheer enormity of the place.

 

They walked on for several seconds until Xhou stopped and stepped to the side and then knelt down. Selim followed suit, putting his hands on the ground in front of him as Xhou had. He could see the bottom of a set of stairs in front of him, but that was all he could see without looking up.

 

Xhou said something loudly in Xingese, although Selim did hear his name. Apparently he'd just been announced again.

 

"Xhou, you may leave," a tenor voice from somewhere above and ahead of Selim. It took every ounce of will to not look up. Beside him, he saw Xhou gain his feet and begin to shuffle backwards. "All servants present will leave as well," the voice said, raising his otherwise monotone voice so it echoed throughout the room.

 

Then, apparently, he turned his attention back to Selim. "I will speak in your native tongue so you may understand, Selim Baker, honored guest of the Yao family."

 

Selim opened his mouth to say thank you, but caught himself just in time. After a few seconds, the Emperor spoke again. "You may speak."

 

Relieved, Selim smiled. "Thank you, Your Majesty," he said. "It is an honor to be here."

 

"It is an honor to have you, distinguished guest."

 

Behind him, a loud slamming of the doors signaled the servant's leaving, and Selim felt his worry shoot up a notch. Being left alone with a very powerful, influential man did not strike him as something he'd particularly like.

 

"Phew! All these rules. I'll never get used to 'em." Selim blinked. The voice had gone from serious and monotone to carefree and almost whiny in a heartbeat. "Alright, get up and let me have a look atcha!"

 

"Um, excuse me?" Selim asked, wondering if this were some kind of prank. He was surprised the Emperor was that fluent in English, let alone that his personality had suddenly changed so drastically. Somehow he felt like he shouldn't be surprised about that aspect of this person but couldn't place why. He'd always seemed so serious in the pictures of him Selim had seen in school.

 

"Eh, all of the decorum is just to keep face," the voice replied easily. "Let me tell you a secret: most leaders are like that. At least all the stuffed shirts I've met. It's all about protocol and rules. Drives me nuts! I don't often get to 'mingle with the commoners', although I much prefer their company most of the time." He chuckled at his comment.

 

"I-I don't understand," Selim said, still keeping his eyes to the ground. He could practically feel the man grinning down at him.

 

"Well I want to take a look at the guy who saved my subject's life! He's extremely grateful, by the way. So is his family. You risked your life to save someone under my rule. To show appreciation, I'm gonna reward you."

 

For a moment, Selim could only blink in confused shock. Had the Emperor of Xing just said 'gonna'? Then he frowned and spoke again, still without raising his head. "With all due respect, sir," he said, "I didn't rescue that man to obtain a reward."

 

For a moment the other man remained silent. Then he burst out laughing. Surprised, Selim looked up for the first time.

 

Emperor Ling Yao seemed far more familiar than Selim would have thought he would. He was a man in his early 40's if Selim recalled correctly, and like Xhou, he had typical Asian features; slanted eyes, dark hair and pale skin. However, nothing about this man seemed normal. Firstly, he seemed to possess a natural charisma and charm that had nothing to do with his royal blood. Secondly, he did not look to be a day older than 25, and his posture screamed an ease with his body that Selim hadn't seen in most military fighters. This man was no pushover.

 

Still, something about him both set Selim's nerves on edge, and calmed them at the same time. He reminded Selim of Johan for a moment; someone born to high status who did their best to not have a care in the world while still looking after those around them. It was a paradox Selim had often wondered about in his best friend, and the reminder had him smiling.

 

Perhaps that's why he seemed so familiar? Selim could see Johan doing exactly what the Emperor was doing now; sitting on a throne in ceremonial robes and hat that Selim had always seen in the pictures of the Xingese Emperors when studying other countries while one arm clutched his stomach and the other had gone to his forehead while he laughed himself silly.

 

"Typical Amestrian," the Emperor said finally as he calmed down, eyes scrunched shut while he fought the chuckles. "So proud that they--" he opened his eyes and looked at Selim. Immediately the light atmosphere disappeared as an expression of horrified surprise washed over his pale features.

 

Then an angry realization replaced the surprise as the Emperor stood and pointed accusingly down at Selim, and he knew he'd done something horribly wrong.

 

“You!” The Emperor yelled out.

 

Selim’s eyes went wide and his breath caught in his throat. He felt like a trapped animal, despite being in the absurdly open room. With the absolute anger (and was that fear?) in the emperor’s eyes, Selim suddenly found himself just hoping he could make it through the meeting alive.

 

Then the Emperor yelled out in Xingese and suddenly two people were at Selim’s side, hauling him to his feet as quickly as he could blink. How did they get there? Where had they been before? He hadn’t seen them at all! Of course, this all only added to the panic and confusion already present in his mind.

 

“Imprison him!”

 

“Wait! What did I do?” Selim asked, struggling against the strong grips of the guards. Normally he could break a person’s hold easily, but these guys seemed to have a special grip that he just couldn’t seem to slip out of.

 

“Don’t act innocent with me!” The Emperor thundered.

 

“I’m sorry!” Selim blurted out. “I didn’t mean it, whatever it was! I apologize!” At that, Ling Yao practically froze, staring as Selim with a look of incomprehension. They stared at each other for several seconds (although it seemed like forever to Selim) and he found himself willing to hope that a simple apology would do.

 

Then the Emperor shook his head, and said something else in Xingese. The next moment, Selim was dragged out the door, crushed hope falling into a numbness covered by a confused haze.

 

They passed Xhou on the way. Much to Selim’s annoyance, the man only shook his head in disappointment and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like ‘I warned you’.